Warrior of Redwall
by Scyphi
Summary: A conspiracy to overthrow a leader. A village fighting for its freedom. An enemy like no other attacking an abbey. And one creature caught in the middle of it all...Please R&R!
1. Prologue

Summary: A conspiracy to overthrow a leader. A village fighting for it's freedom. An enemy like no other attacking an abbey. And one creature caught in the middle of it all...

Rating: T (for the violence, the blood, the gore, the backstabbing, all the usual Redwall stuff)

Well, here's my next multi-chapter Redwall fanfic! Like I said at the end of "Weylan's Family" this fanfic breaks the trends and takes place some time in unknown Redwall history, several seasons after "Doomwyte". All of the characters who appear are of my own invention, and thus all belong to me. There will be few exceptions. Keep an eye out for cookies relating back to my other fanfics, however. ;) This chpt is a prologue (hence why it's labelled as such) to introduce the situation. Next chapter will take place a couple seasons later, and will focus on Redwall itself.

Anyway, enjoy! :)

Warrior of Redwall

Prologue

"Moroni, my son, are you there?" the elderly mouse whispered weakly.

"I'm here father." the son, Moroni, said quickly, coming to the side of his father. "I'm here. What is it you wanted?"

His father did not reply right away, he simply clasped Moroni's paw tightly, licked at his dry lips, and stared longing into the eyes of his son. Moroni didn't press him any. He knew his father. More than likely he merely wanted to see his son, in case this would be his final chance. He had done it before many times over the course of the week, whenever Moroni had managed to come to visit, and none of those chances had in fact been his last.

But he could sense perhaps just as well as Moroni could that this time it wasn't going to be like that.

It was currently winter time in the village of Angola, and this particular season had been extra harsh upon it's inhabitants. The snow had fallen heavy and thick during the first few weeks, rapidly covering the land with the pristine crystals. Then a heavy cold spell hit that froze the land even more than before. And with the cold spell came a bout of the flu, striking creatures all throughout seemingly at random.

Normally, this was no overly large deal, as the flu visited Angola frequently. Most creatures would be ill and sometimes bedridden for about a week or so, but then always bounce back, no worse for wear. Moroni himself spent such a week, the week previous in fact, in his home with his wife, ill with the flu. By the end of the week he was feeling much better.

Then Moroni's father, Mormon, caught the disease and was bedridden almost over night, more severely ill than most. As old as he was, the matter was serious. The village healer, Sister Daisy, was called in to help care for him. Moroni came to visit and help as frequently as he could, but his duties as captain of the Angola militia otherwise kept him preoccupied.

As the week wore on, it quickly became clear that Mormon was not getting better, and was instead growing worse, and ever more weaker. Finally, Sister Daisy came to Moroni and broke him the bad news. She had done everything she could to no avail. It was unlikely Mormon would survive the rest of the week.

The rest of the time spent up until now had been spent waiting for the worse to happen. In addition to his normal duties, Moroni had spent that time making sure his father's affairs were in order and spending as much time as he could with Mormon, in case he died without warning. Sister Daisy continued to treat him, but all she could do now was make sure he remained comfortable. Moroni hadn't told Mormon the news during all that time, but he didn't really need to. Mormon was as smart as he was old. He knew he wasn't likely to live perhaps sooner than everyone else.

Now, it seemed, the time had finally come.

Mormon ran his tongue over his dry lips once more before speaking. "Moroni, as a member of the militia, tell me what it's duties are." he instructed calmly.

"To serve and protect the village in times of need or danger." Moroni replied instantly, having these duties memorized by requirement. "And to serve and obey the lord and lady of Midnight Castle. To rally to them at times of war and to protect the lord and lady from danger with our lives."

Mormon chuckled for a moment. "To serve and protect." he repeated to himself. "How restricting that sounds."

"Father?" Moroni questioned. "What do you mean, restricting?"

"Isn't it obvious, Moroni?" Mormon asked. "Angola has no liberty, no freedom to act for itself."

Moroni blinked in surprise. "Of course we do!" he exclaimed. "Angola has freedom. We can come and go as we want, do what we want, whatever we want!"

"If our leader, Lady Grinta, got it in her head that she wished to start a war, would we have the choice to go along or not?" Mormon asked.

"Lady Grinta is no condition to start a war." Moroni objected.

"It is a rhetorical question son, now please answer it." Mormon interrupted. "Do we have that freedom?"

Moroni sought for the answer he wished, but failed. "No." he admitted.

"Do we have the freedom to choose who leads us?"

"No."

"And do we have the freedom to choose _not _to protect the lord and lady?"

"Father!"

"Please answer the question, Moroni."

Moroni bit his lip. "No."

"Then Angola has no freedom."

"What is you point, father?" Moroni asked, feeling lost.

"The time has come, Moroni, for Angola to get it's freedom." Mormon said. "The time for us to break away from the rule of Lady Grinta."

Moroni blinked in surprise. Across the room, where Sister Daisy stood preparing an herb mixture, there was a sudden gasp and a clatter as the healer mouse dropped the bowl she was carrying.

"That's treason!" she exclaimed.

"She's right, father, what you speak of is treason!" Moroni agreed. "If you were overheard..."

"It would only further prove my point that we have no freedom." Mormon said. "Now is the time to break away from the monarchical rule that has held Angola back."

"But why, father?" Moroni asked. "I do not understand. Angola has been ruled by a lord or lady for untold seasons now. We have never had a problem. We have always been ruled fairly, even if what you're saying is true, and we do have no freedom. Why change that?"

"Because we will not always ruled fairly." Mormon said. He paused for a moment to cough. "Times are changing. Tell me, Moroni, what condition is Lady Grinta in?"

"She is well." Moroni said. "Still ill, but I'm told nothing life threating."

"Presume for a moment that it is, and she dies." Mormon said. "Who is next in line to rule?"

"Her eldest son, Kani." Moroni said. "His younger brother, Hax, after that. But they are both well-liked, they will rule fairly, I fail to see the problem."

"Clearly, Moroni, you cannot see what is underneath your own nose." Mormon said with a smile.

Moroni was going to inquire as to what he meant by that, when Mormon suddenly broke out into a coughing fit. Sister Daisy hurried over in case she was needed, but there was little she could do but wait for the fit to end. Moroni sat and waited as well. Finally, Mormon relaxed, took a deep breath, then leaned back onto his pillow, looking weaker still.

"Moroni." he said. "You are captain of the militia. Promise me you will rally the militia together to fight for Angola's freedom."

Moroni didn't reply right away.

"Moroni, promise me you will do this." his father repeated. "Promise me."

"I won't promise anything father." Moroni said. "I don't see the need to do this, nor do I see us being successful at such a task."

"But you will try?"

Moroni hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Mormon grinned, then relaxed, closing his eyes. He died peacefully a few moments later, all the while still smiling.

* * *

Moroni trudged through the frozen snow that layered the village street, oblivious of the chill that surrounded him on all sides. He had left Sister Daisy to tend to his father's body and prepare it for burial, likely to take place on the morn. Normally, Moroni would've hung around to help, like he had done when his mother passed away some seasons earlier. But he had been away from home long enough as is. His wife would be wondering what had kept him, and besides, she would want to know what had happened.

As he went, he reflected upon his father's last words, wondering what Mormon was implying. He had decided that now was the time to fight for freedom, when there had never been a need before, nor did there seem to be a need now. And then there was the implication that Mormon knew something that Moroni didn't. What was it? And why did Mormon not simply tell him why? Did he think he wouldn't have enough time before he passed on to the Dark Forest?

So deeply in thought he was, he almost didn't hear the weak moan that came from a small and narrow side road that went in-between two Angolian cottages. He had managed to walk past it before what he had heard sunk in fully. Puzzled, his ears perked up as he strained to listen for the noise. Sure enough, he heard it again, followed by a faint whisper for help.

Alarmed, Moroni doubled back to the side street and hurried into it. He didn't go far before he found a creature lying in the snow, struggling to pick himself up, but failing. As Moroni drew closer, growing more alarmed, he saw that the creature was a fox, and had a knife protruding from his chest. And it wasn't just any fox.

It was Hax Fennix. Lady Grinta's youngest son, and one of the heirs to her throne.

Beyond alarmed now, Moroni quickly rushed to the side of the fallen fox, stripping off his cloak to strip off a piece of the hem to try and staunch the bleeding, while at the same time checking to see if Hax was still alive. He was. But only just. Breathing in quick, sharp, breaths, his was fading fast.

Moroni wasn't sure what to do. This wound was too serious for a creature of limited expertise such as him to handle, and he didn't have the supplies anyway to properly treat him. He thought about going back to his father's cottage to get Sister Daisy, but he knew that Hax was likely to die in the time it took to do that.

There wasn't anything he could do.

Regardless, he took the strip of cloth he had made and pressed it on the wound, wrapping it around the dagger. He didn't dare remove it though, knowing that could make things worse. As he did this, he contemplated how this could've happened. Hax had always been very friendly with the Angolians. He came down from Midnight Castle into the village to visit fairly frequently. He had no real enemies that Moroni knew of. Yet it was clear that for some reason, Hax had been attacked, quite possibly fatally. Worse still, there was no sign of a struggle, meaning Hax had been caught by surprise.

It shouldn't have to be this way, though. Hax was still very young, hardly fully grown yet. He was a strong believer of upholding what was right, and wasn't known to do anything morally wrong. And then there was the fact he was a warrior in training, and quite bold, if not reckless. It seemed unlikely someone could get the jump on him like this. And yet some beast had. And Moroni didn't have the foggiest idea who and why.

Moroni saved these thoughts for later, however, knowing that his first and foremost goal was to try and make sure Hax lived, if only long enough to tell who attacked him at the very least. But no matter how he treated the wound, warm blood continued to seep through, staining Moroni's paws and the surrounding snow. Very soon Hax would bleed to death, if he didn't die from other complications.

Hax seemed to be for the moment to be unconscious, quite likely a very merciful thing as he would no doubt be experiencing extreme pain if he wasn't. But then, like a switch being thrown, Hax's eyes suddenly snapped open, and focused blearily on Moroni.

"Captain?" he asked in a harsh whisper, recognizing Moroni, as they had met before. "Captain?"

"Aye, I'm here your lordship." Moroni said, as he worked. "I'm trying to help you."

"It...hurts..."

"I'm trying what I can, your lordship, just hang on." Moroni said, and sought for something to use to distract Hax from his pain. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

Hax was silent for a moment, and for a moment Moroni thought he had lost consciousness again, but then the fox spoke suddenly without warning.

"It was...a meeting." Hax whispered. He winced suddenly, but continued. "Plain meeting. One of peace. Suspected nothing." he paused, his breathing quickening still. "I arrived on time...but he didn't."

"Who didn't arrive?" Moroni urged, but Hax wasn't listening.

"They came out of nowhere." the fox went on. "Couldn't...stop them. Didn't have a chance...stabbed me...then ran."

Moroni thought suddenly to look around at the surrounding snow for footprints, but only saw his own. The rest had been swept away, to erase all evidence of whoever attacked.

"Stabbed me...then ran." Hax repeated. "Left me to die, I suspect."

"Who attacked you?" Moroni urged. "Your lordship, do you know who attacked you?"

Hax weakly managed to nod once. "It was...it was..."

But then he trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished. It wasn't long after that Moroni saw, for the second time, a creature die that day.

* * *

Moroni quickly sent for help after that. Not long afterward, a large party of creatures, most of them Angolian mice, gathered at the sight, whispering amongst themselves as they strove to catch sight of Hax's body. Members from the militia strove to keep them back at Moroni's order. Creatures from Midnight Castle were sent for, and would come to further investigate.

Kneeling near Hax's body was Moroni, sitting on his haunches and his paws clasped together in his lap. He wore a blank expression on his face. Kneeling next to him was Sister Daisy, who had been sent for because her healing skills might be of use. As there was nothing she could do for Hax, she went about reassuring Moroni.

"You did everything you could." she told him. "There was nothing you could do to prevent this."

"I know." Moroni said flatly. "But will everyone else?"

At that moment, there was a bit of a commotion from within the crowd of watchers. Several started to move aside, either on their own or otherwise, as a smaller group of creatures moved towards the site.

"Move it!" a harsh voice said. "I said move it, there! C'mon, move aside! Make room fer him t' git through!"

Finally, the group, all foxes, emerged from the crowd of mice and moved towards Hax's corpse. Four of the foxes were royal guards, and surrounded a fifth fox. Moroni recognized this creature instantly, and quickly stood up to greet him.

"Methusael, sir!" Moroni exclaimed, standing at attention.

Methusael Redd, second in command to the royal family, stood there for a moment, towering over the mice, and surveyed the situation. He glanced for a moment at Hax's body, completely ignored Sister Daisy, then focused his attention on Moroni.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"I wish I knew, sir." Moroni said. "All I know was that he was attacked, ambushed."

"By who?" Methusael asked sternly.

"I don't know, sir." Moroni pressed. "Whoever it was left little trace of their presence. Hax wasn't able to tell me who it was before he passed on. He did recognize whoever it was, though."

Methusael stepped over to loom over Hax's body for a moment, looking down at the fallen fox. "That does not tell me much, captain." he said.

"I know, sir."

Methusael looked the mouse captain up and down again. "I presume that's Hax's blood on your paws." he said, pointing at them.

Moroni glanced down at his stained paws for a brief moment, already seeing what Methusael was getting at. "I was trying to help him, sir." he said. "It was not me who killed him."

"I only have your word on that, captain." Methusael pointed out.

Sister Daisy, who had been wisely keeping quiet up until now, spoke up in Moroni's defense. "He didn't do it!" she exclaimed. "He couldn't have! He was returning from visiting his sick father when he found his lordship on the verge of death! I know, because I was there!"

"A likely story." Methusael said.

"His father is dead now." Sister Daisy continued sternly. "Murder was the very last thing on his mind."

"You don't know that." Methusael said, but he seemed to accept the story. "When did he leave his father's cottage?"

"Just moments before he found Hax, not enough time for him to attack." Sister Daisy said. "I can vouch for him."

"I'm sure you can." Methusael said, then turned to Moroni. "You realize I will have to conduct an investigation regardless, correct?"

"Aye, I do, sir." Moroni said. "I don't blame you for making sure."

Methusael nodded, then glanced at the dagger still stabbed into Hax's body. "What weapon is that?" he asked, pointing with one claw. "To what loyalties do you suppose this attacker was?"

Moroni hesitated, already knowing the answer and not liking it.

"Captain?"

"The weapon is Angolian, sir." Moroni finally replied.

Methusael tilted his head. "So Angola is to blame for this unprovoked attack." he determined.

"No sir."

The fox glanced in mild interest at Moroni. "Oh?" he asked.

"There is no motive for an Angolian to do this." Moroni said. "Nor can I think of any creature who would want to do this anyway."

"Do you have a means to disprove that an Angolian did this?"

Moroni hesitated again. "No sir."

"Then until I say otherwise, Angola is to blame. Understand?"

Moroni nodded. "I understand, sir."

Methusael nodded again, and then turned to Hax's body once again, his back to Moroni. He nodded to the guards, who stepped forward to tend to Hax's body. "Thank you captain for your cooperation." he said. "I will take over from here. You may leave, if you wish."

Moroni hesitated. "I would like to be the one to tell her ladyship the bad news." he requested.

"Lady Grinta has already been informed." Methusael said. He turned his head to look back at Moroni. "I will send her your condolences if you wish, however."

Moroni paused, then nodded. "If you could, sir, it would be appreciated." he said. "Good day, sir."

"Good day captain." Methusael said. "We will meet again soon to discuss this matter further."

Moroni nodded one last time, then left, pushing his way through the crowd. Sister Daisy followed him.

"They can't blame this on us, much less you." she muttered as they walked down the snowy street. "There hasn't been any contention between Angola and those foxes at Midnight Castle for untold seasons! We Angolians certainly didn't do it!"

"They can't take sides, Sister Daisy." Moroni reminded her. "They have to look at all the angles. Methusael was doing his job as he should."

"Pinning the blame on us isn't looking at it from all angles." Sister Daisy pointed out. But she sighed. "I suppose, though, there's nothing we can do about that except gripe, is there?"

Moroni was silent for a moment. "We could if we had more freedom." he said calmly.

Sister Daisy glanced at him in shock. "You aren't." she said.

"Well, I haven't decided for certain just yet."

"But you aren't thinking about actually fulfilling your father's last request, are you? Certainly, your father was a good creature but...this is _treason _we're talking about."

"I know. But I promised him I would at least try, didn't I?"

* * *

The view was quite breathtaking. The window made it even more spectacular. It was a large window several feet long, and about half of that distance in height. It was made out of a single piece of transparent crystal, no easy act. No one, not even him, would've even thought it was possible to do without breaking the crystal until a group of traders that passed through Angola some seasons back presented the means of doing it, and were more than willing to build the window. For the right price.

Despite it's cost, he still thought it was worth every cent. The view this window provided never ceased to amaze him. But today, it's beauty was lost on him. He had no will to focus on the view, or much of anything. All he wanted to do was sit there and stay there until he got the gumption to move on, as he eventually would. But it wouldn't be easy.

There was a light knock on the chamber door. His sensitive ears picked it up and analyzed it, determining the most likely creature it belonged to. Deciding who it was fairly quickly, he acknowledged the knocker.

"Come in."

The door opened, and the creature entered, coming to stand beside the desk he faced away from. He had guessed right on who it was. His servant, Mordecai, stood quietly beside the desk for a moment, also looking out the window, before speaking.

"Master Kani." he said. "Master Methusael wishes to speak with you concerning important matters."

"Can't say I'm surprised. Tell him it can wait until later."

"He says it is important, sir. He's not likely to take no for an answer."

"He's going to have to. I don't wish to talk about the matter right now. He should know that."

"When I say important sir, I mean it. It involves Angola."

"I know. What else would it involve? Methusael will still have to wait. I do not wish to speak with him right now."

Mordecai was silent for a moment before he continued speaking.

"With all due respect, sir, Master Methusael is likely to come storming in here if I tell him no."

"Mordecai, my brother is dead. Murdered in cold blood. My mother is very ill. I'm told she isn't getting any better. I am in no mood to discuss anything with anyone right now. I just want to be left alone. To think. To dwell. Please let me do that."

"Very good sir. I shall see to Master Methusael then. If you don't mind, though I will have to post a guard at your door. Perhaps two."

"Fine. Do what you need, just so long I can have some peace."

"Yes sir." a pause. "My condolences for your loss, sir."

"A lot of good that will do me. But thank you anyway."

Mordecai bowed, and then turned and left. He closed the door quietly behind him. Kani sat quietly in his chair, paws clasped together as he looked out the window and pondered today's unexpected and terrible events.

"Why?" he asked himself aloud. "Why would someone kill you, Hax?"


	2. Chapter 1

As promised, this chapter focuses on Redwall, and mostly introduces characters, while at the same time hinting at the plot ahead. The next chapter will do likewise.

Chapter One

Extract from the writings of Linus Scrypt, Squirrel Recorder for Redwall Abbey in Mossflower Country.

_It is a peaceful day today at Redwall Abbey in the midst of Spring. This past season, the Spring of the Windy Days actually hasn't been too gentle to us Redwallers. It began frightfully enough, with rain, storms, and of course, great and powerful, sweeping, winds. But it seems to have calmed down a great deal as the season has worn on. Today is the third nice day in a row. It seems the weather finally decided to calm down in preparation for summer._

_As such, the abbey is alive with activities now. From right here, I can see through the gatehouse window down at the grounds below and see a many creatures playing, walking, and working. I can see the gardeners working down in the orchard, Dibbuns playing in the warm sun and hiding from their elders, while the elders themselves strolled the grounds and talked amongst themselves about times of old._

_Overall, there is little to report. It is a time of peace here at Redwall, and has been that way for more seasons than I can remember. There was a feast the other night, but it wasn't a large one, and there was no real occasion for having the feast in the first place. I believe Friar Machaerus simply wanted to prepare a feast in spite of everything. Naturally, Abbot Isaiah didn't turn him down, bless his aging heart. To quote Father Abbot's own wise words, "Everyday should be a day to celebrate, particularly when the day brings peace" and that's cause enough for the rest of us._

_Now I feel I should conclude my writings for the day. Normally, I'm quite happy to sit, as my wife would put it, "in this stuffy room and write for hours with messy ink" but the beautiful day outside is calling for my attention, so I will conclude early and go outside and join in the activities. Besides, I just heard my son enter the cottage, meaning that there will be trouble here shortly._

_Linus Scrypt

* * *

  
_

"Boo!"

Linus jumped, and the letter T he had been in the midst of crossing suddenly had an unsightly blotch on it. He glared at the blotch for a moment, then turned to look at the young squirrel standing behind him, giggling.

"Scared ya, didn't I, Father?" the squirrel said happily.

Unable to hold a grudge against his son, Linus merely rolled his eyes and grinned. "I suppose you did, Alexander." he said, setting aside his quill and trying to wipe off the blotch of ink. The ink merely smeared on the parchment, and made things worse. Sighing, Linus gave up and set the parchment aside to finish drying.

Alexander then jumped nimbly onto his shoulders, again making Linus jump in surprise. "For those who don't want a fright, should always keep their foes in sight." Alexander rhymed happily.

"Oh, come up with that all by yourself, hmm?" Linus asked, looking up at his son.

Alexander nodded happily. Linus pulled him down, and then stood up, stretching his limb and tail for a moment.

"Well, I was getting up anyway, so no _real _harm done." he said, taking his son's paw. "I suppose though that if you're in here, you've ran every other creature in this abbey up the wall and now it's my turn."

Alexander merely giggled again as he allowed his father lead him to the staircase and head down into the lower levels of the cottage. Linus rolled his eyes in exasperation and shook his head.

"I hope that you haven't been shirking your duties at least." he said. "You've practiced your writing as I requested, yes?"

Alexander winced, and avoided eye contact, telling Linus that he had not.

"Alexander..."

"But why, Father? Why do I need to practice writing?"

"Because one day you are going to take on the duties of being recorder of Redwall, and in order to do that, you must know how to write."

"Suppose I don't want to be a recorder, Father?"

"Oh, you do. I can see it already. You excel at reading, you love telling made-up stories to your friends, you have an interest in our history, and you are very skilled at making up those little rhymes of yours on the spot. You have all the makings of a recorder. It's in your blood, you know."

Alexander muttered something impolite about blood under his breath, thinking his father would not hear, but he underestimated Linus's hearing.

"Language, Alexander." Linus reprimanded.

"Sorry, Father." Alexander apologized, his ears dropping momentarily.

They stepped out of the cottage and out into the bright morning sun. Linus inhaled a breath of air deeply and let it out in a satisfied sigh.

"Beautiful day today." he said musingly, then tugged on Alexander's paw and led him towards the main building of the abbey. "Come, son, let's pay a visit to the kitchens and get a bite to eat. Then we can go visit the pond."

Liking that idea, Alexander happily followed. They walked across the grounds, greeting creatures as they passed, all out to enjoy the day as well. Linus looked around for one creature in particular.

"Alexander, do you know where your mother is?" Linus asked.

Alexander pointed towards the gardens with one claw. "Over there, helping Brother Herb." he said.

Linus looked, and indeed saw his wife, Aquila Scrypt, toiling in the garden, dust and dirt caked onto her claws and her knees, but still was as pretty a squirrel as any. Linus wanted to greet her, but they were out of Aquila's line of sight, and Linus felt it would be impolite to call to her just to greet her at the moment.

They continued walking, then, and stepped up and through the front entrance of the ancient abbey they called home. Inside Great Hall, the temperature was nice and cool, but not cool enough to cause a chill, matching the temperature outside. Sunlight streamed in through the towering windows of stained glass that lined the walls, and cast brilliant rainbows of color on the floor.

Unsurprisingly, there was only one creature standing in the hall at the moment, everyone else having either gone outside or were understandably busy elsewhere in the abbey. This one creature was a very elderly mouse, older than anybody could remember. His fur had turned silver long ago, and his back was permanently stooped with his age. He leaned heavily on a wooden cane, and some were amazed a creature of his age could even get around. But nobody was about to doubt how very wise this creature was, as he silently gazed at the tapestry of Martin the Warrior the chamber housed.

Linus greeted him in a cordial, but respective manner. "Good morning, Father Abbot."

Abbot Isaiah glanced over at the two squirrels as they walked past. "And a good morning to you as well, young Linus." he greeted back in a wizened, soft voice. "Off to visit the kitchens, eh? Be warned, Friar Machaerus is busy preparing today's afternoon meal at the moment, and you know how he gets when his cooking is interrupted."

"We'll be careful, Father Abbot." Linus assured him politely. "Would you care to join us?"

Isaiah shook his head politely. "No thank you, I'm not hungry." he said. "Besides, I'm busy here." he turned to continue staring at the tapestry of Martin.

Linus accepted the answer, and started to continue on to head down into Cavern Hole, but Alexander paused for a moment, watching the abbot with a furrowed brow.

"Doesn't look to me like your busy doing anything." he remarked to the abbot.

"Alexander!" Linus scolded. "Never mind what he's doing. It's not polite to question your elders like that."

"Oh don't worry, there's no harm done in asking a simple question." Isaiah said. "Besides, I'm more than happy to explain."

"So what are you doing?" Alexander asked.

"Merely conversing with a friend of mine."

"Who?"

"Who else?"

The elderly mouse pointed a claw at the image portrayed on the tapestry. Alexander glanced at it, the furrow in his brow deepening.

"You mean Martin?" he asked.

"Indeed." Isaiah said with a nod. "Martin has many things to reveal to me today."

He resumed staring at the tapestry. Linus took the moment to take Alexander's paw and pull him towards Cavern Hole.

"Thank you, Father Abbot!" he called as he pulled his son out of hearing range in case he had another question to ask.

Which, he did. "How can you talk with a dead beast?" he asked his father innocently.

"Clearly, the abbot has found a way." Linus said. "And as he's wiser than all of us combined; we shouldn't doubt his word."

"But how do you _know _he's telling the truth?" Alexander asked.

Linus grinned. He asked that himself once, when he was younger. He didn't really figure out an answer, though, until he became recorder, and began reading through ancient records of seasons past at the abbey in his spare time. In them, he found many accounts of Martin the Warrior visiting key creatures at the abbey in vision, and relating wisdom and advice, even instructions. Now granted, there was no way to prove these accounts were true.

But there was no way to disprove them as false, either.

"You really don't know." Linus admitted to his son. "But it's not our place to _know_. All we need to do is have faith, and things will work out on their own."

* * *

Abbot Isaiah watched the pair leave, and grinned, shaking his head.

"Your friends are very inquisitive, aren't they?"

Isaiah turned to look back at the tapestry. Only now, a mouse of middle seasons stood before the tapestry, plainly dressed, but wearing a sheathed sword at his waist. Isaiah grinned at the creature.

"They are young still, Martin." Isaiah told him. "They have much to learn."

"As do we all." Martin replied wisely. "Unfortunately, that will have to wait for another time."

"I do not like your tone, Martin." Isaiah said. "What is to happen?"

"I can't tell you yet." Martin said. "The time hasn't come. But times are changing, Isaiah. This time of peace this abbey has enjoyed for so long is about to end. The time to rise to battle is rapidly approaching."

Isaiah nodded in understanding. "What can we do to prepare, Martin?" he asked. "What can we expect?"

"The time for you know has not come, friend." Martin said. He then turned and looked up above the tapestry behind him, where a magnificent sword was hung. "But soon it will be time for a certain creature to take up arms..."


	3. Chapter 2

More character introductions at Redwall here with more to follow in the next chapter. We'll probably get back to Angola in chapter four. Pay attention to some of the names (particularly sirnames) of these characters. Skipper Rowe's name (not title) is ripped from another character in another fanfic I've written in another fandom who is also consequently an otter. As I've stolen names from my Redwall fanfics for this other fanfic, I figured it'd be fun if I did the reverse for a change. :)

Chapter 2

"Careful with those buns, Brother Grant! Don't over cook 'em, y'hear? Thicker, Sister Pansy, that sauce needs t' be much thicker, wot-wot! Add more tomatoes t' that bally salad young Charles, an' I see you got the meadow cream prepared as I requested. Mind if I have a taste?"

Friar Machaerus dipped a claw into the cream and brought on it to his mouth to taste. The critical middle-aged hare titled his head in thought as he sucked on his claw for a moment. Finally, he grinned.

"Very good, Charles!" he praised, patting young mouse who had been silently waiting for the friar's approval. "Jolly good meadow cream you've prepared there! Might I suggest you add a touch more milk next time? Makes the cream even creamier, eh wot? Other than that, grand job you're doin'!"

"Thank you, sir." the shy mouse replied, and resumed preparing the salad in front of him, stopping to slice a tomato.

Machaerus continued inspecting the other dishes his fellow cooks were preparing with his usual critical eye, adjusting the white chef's hat he had propped on his head, in-between his two, long, ears. He gave advice, suggestions, and corrections at random.

"More flour there, sah! Much more! Don't have enough t' make single slice of bread there. Yes, yes, that looks good, but you jolly well need t' hurry! Lunch is just around the corner, an' hungry beasts are goin' t' be awaitin' for their grub in moments! No, no, and no! No nutmeg until _after _you've stirred in the barley, marm, told you that before, I think. Now, Malachi, my son, just wot do you think you're doin' _now?_"

A stack of dirty dishes made their way towards the friar. The head of a hare, slightly older than Charles, poked his head around the stack.

"Cleanin' th' dishes just like you asked, father." he told Machaerus.

"Looks more like you're tryin' t' break every dish in the abbey, more like!" Machaerus said, annoyed. "Take some of those dishes off that bloomin' stack you've got there, Malachi, before your drop it! Just take a few at time next time, y'hear? And will somebeast _please _get that otter out of my kitchens?"

He jabbed an accusing claw at an otter standing across the room, who quickly hid one paw behind his back.

"Wot am I doin' wrong, mate?" he asked Machaerus innocently. "I ain't doin' nothin' wrong!"

"You're pilferin' food is wot you're doin'!" Machaerus said, storming over. "Nobeast 'cept me can do that in these kitchens, an' you jolly well know it too!"

"Who says I was snitching food?" the otter said in his defense. "Ye can't go about claimin' such things without proof!"

Machaerus didn't say anything, but simply grabbed the paw the otter was hiding behind his back and pulled out where it could be seen. In it was a fistful of watershrimp, swiped from a nearby bowl of it. Machaerus gave the otter a glare, who grinned sheepishly.

"Hey, an otter's gotta eat, mate!" he said, like it made a difference.

"Tobias Riverstryke, wot am I goin' t' do with you?" Machaerus bemoaned. "Can't let you into the kitchens anymore or else I won't have any flippin' food left t' cook with!"

"Not my fault yore such a good cook, mate." Tobias said, praising Machaerus with flattery.

It nearly worked. Machaerus paused for a moment to beam at the comment for his cooking, but he didn't let him distract him from the matter at hand. He gave the otter a very stern look as he pried the stolen watershrimp from Tobias's paw.

"Get out of here, Tobias." he said, giving the otter a shove. "An' next time I catch you stealin' food from my kitchens, I'm going t' get back every morsel of it by force if I must!"

"Not if I eat it first!" Tobias called back as he exited the kitchen. "Don't think ye can get it if it's in me stomach!"

"You just watch me!" Machaerus called back. "I'll cut open your bloomin' stomach with a carving knife if I must, just t' get it back!"

Tobias rolled his eyes and grinned as he walked out of the kitchens and into Cavern Hole. He joined an ottermaid sitting patiently at one of the tables, the same age as him.

"So?" she asked expectantly.

Tobias kept grinning and extended his other paw, which clutched twice as many watershrimp in it than the paw Machaerus had pried watershrimp from. "Got enough for us both, Illia!" he said happily, handing his twin sister the shrimp.

They had sat down and had divided the shrimp evenly between them and were busy eating it when Linus and Alexander entered. Linus eyed them with a skeptical eye as he passed.

"So, where did you two get the shrimp?" he asked, leading his son into the kitchens.

Tobias and Illia exchanged glances quickly.

"Friar Machaerus was kind enough t' spare us some." Illia said, acting innocent.

Linus didn't seem to buy it as he continued on into kitchens, and judging from the giggle that escaped Alexander, the young squirrel didn't believe it either. So the moment the two had disappeared into the kitchens, the two otters quickly gathered up the remaining uneaten shrimp and quickly ran out of Cavern Hole. A moment later, a roar echoed out from within the kitchens as Linus related to Machaerus what he knew and the enraged friar raced out of the kitchens a few moments later, his chef's hat toppling off his head as he ran.

"I'm gonna _hang _those two!" he yelled as he ran.

* * *

But of course, he did no such thing. Tobias and Illia were too quick for him, and quickly ran and hid. Not only that, but other creatures quickly worked to dissuade Machaerus's wrath and calm him down, and of course, Machaerus eventually gave up and went back to his kitchens. Seeing they were safe, the two twins wandered outside to enjoy the good weather.

And being otters, they eventually wandered over to the pond, most likely for a swim. But once there, they discovered there was something to draw their interest away from swimming. Gathered about the shore of the pond were several other otters of varying ages, who were sitting around, watching two otters battle each other with wooden staves.

The battle didn't go on much longer before one otter managed to hook his stave behind the stave of his opponents and rip away from him. Pushing his opponent over, the otter then spun around, and knocked the footpaws out from under the opponent and he went down. With another twist, the otter brought his stave to point at his opponent's throat. Then he grinned, and lowered the stave and helped his opponent up.

"Good fight!" he praised. "Very nearly got me there a few times!"

"Still can't outdo ye, though, can I, Skip?" the defeated otter asked, not upset.

The otters watching applauded politely, a couple cheering the defeated otter for trying. The winning otter then turned to face the gathered audience.

"All right, mates!" he said. "Any other creatures who'd like t' try an' fight me?"

A paw belonging to a single creature shot right into the air. "Ooh! Me! Me! Pick me!" he exclaimed.

The winning otter acted like he didn't see the paw. "Anyone?" he asked. "Anyone at all?"

The volunteering otter raised his paw higher, anxious to be picked.

"Anybody at all?" the winning otter asked, still acting like he couldn't see the paw.

"Oi! Skip! Pick me!" the volunteering otter called out. "Oh, Skipper Rowe! I'm raisin' me paw! I'm volunteerin'! PICK ME!"

Rowe pressed a paw to his forehead in mild dismay. "Okay, Mathoni." he relented. "Get on up 'ere."

"Woo hoo!" Mathoni exclaimed, and hurried on over up to join Rowe, picking up the discarded stave. "Don't worry Rowe me matey, I'll go easy on ye!"

"That'll be the day." Rowe muttered.

Mathoni let out a loud yell, raised his stave over his head and then charged the Skipper of Otters. Rowe let him charge, and then with one fluid movement had Mathoni knocked over and flat on his back. Rowe looked down at his overeager opponent, and sighed.

"Mebbe ye went a little too easy on me, eh mate?" he asked despairingly. "Ye done now?"

"Actually, no." Mathoni said, getting up. "I was hopin' ye'd let me 'ave another go."

Rowe rolled his eyes, but nodded, and went on the defensive again. Again, Mathoni attacked first, but this time more cautiously. He moved to whack his stave at one of Rowe's shoulders, then at the other, and then went to drive it at Rowe's muscular middle. Rowe blocked all three moves with the greatest of ease. Mathoni then suddenly jabbed a claw to point behind Rowe, a look of excitement on his face.

"Look, 'ere comes th' abbot!" he exclaimed.

Rowe turned to look in the direction Mathoni pointed. Mathoni used the moment in which he was looking away to get ready to strike. But he never got that far, because the next thing he knew, he was disarmed and flat on his back again.

Rowe leaned his chin on the end of his stave. "Wot 'ave I told ye 'bout tryin' t' cheat like that?" he said sternly. "Makes ye no better than vermin, y'know."

"I'm just tryin' t' beat ye, mate!" Mathoni said, looking up at his elder. "Just once! Is that too much t' ask for?"

"An' then wot?" Rowe asked. "Mathoni, I know wot yore tryin' t' do. Ye want t' be a gallivant and brave warrior, just like in th' legends! But Mathoni, ye don't know th' first thing about bein' a warrior, do ye?"

"'Course I do!" Mathoni said. "I know lots 'bout bein' a warrior! I just need t' actually beat somebeast in a battle, an' then..."

Rowe sighed. "Forget it, forget it!" he exclaimed, taking his stave and walking away. "Never mind, Mathoni!"

Mathoni rolled over and watched him go, hearing the audience who had been watching begin to talk amongst themselves about the arguement. He bit his lip for a moment, picked up his stave, and hurried after Rowe.

"Skip!" he called as he ran. "Skip, wait! Hold on, mate! Wotcha got against me?"

"Nothin', Mathoni." Rowe said as he continued walking. "Yore a good youngster. Really. There's just one problem with that."

"The fact that I'm nearly fully grown?" Mathoni asked flatly.

"Aye, that's it." Rowe said. "When are ye goin' t' grow up?"

"Who says I 'aven't already?" Mathoni asked.

"Then ye 'ad better act like it!" Rowe said. "That liddle stunt ye pulled back there, tryin' t' get me t' look the wrong way, was a wicked little Dibbun's trick! Didn't even work, either!"

"That's not wot this is about, though, is it?" Mathoni asked.

Rowe was silent for a moment. "No." he admitted. "Mathoni, ye want t' be a warrior, right?"

"Aye. Wot's the problem with that?"

"The problem is that ye think bein' a warrior is not all about th' glory! It's not! It's violent, and bloody, and...and...Mathoni, there's no real glory in that! Ye've never been in a real battle, ye've never seen the bloodshed, an'..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Ye just don't understand wot it takes, Mathoni! An' that's the next problem! I don't think ye've got wot it takes t' be a warrior!"

"But...but how can I become a Skipper like ye if I don't..." Mathoni suddenly cut himself short with a gasp, and clamped a paw over his mouth.

Rowe stopped and looked back at him. "Is that wot this is about?" he asked. "Ye 'ave ambitions t' be a Skipper of Otters?"

Mathoni nodded, and hung his head. Rowe had to grin at this. "Aw mate, there ain't nothin' wrong with havin' a dream like that." he said. "In fact, I think it's great. Really do."

"But if ye think I'm not cut out for it..." Mathoni began.

Rowe sighed. "Look, Mathoni, I didn't get t' where I am by defeatin' a friend in a practice battle done only in good sport like wot yore tryin'." he said. "I only got t' where I am from many, many, seasons worth of experience. By gettin' out in the world. Mathoni, all ye've ever seen of the world is these four walls." he motioned to the four walls that surrounded Redwall Abbey. "Ye aren't gonna get anywhere near yore goals in 'ere. I certainly didn't. I got out into that world, left the abbey in the dust of me footsteps and got out in that world fer awhile! Went out and explored it, 'ad a grand ole adventure! Didn't care where I went or ended up! I just went out an' _did _it. An' I ain't th' only one! Take the Riverstryke twins, Tobias and Illia. They were members of the otter guard, protectin' their king with their _lives_ down in Southsward 'fore they decided that they liked things better up 'ere in Mossflower."

"But _they_ come from a long line of warriors!" Mathoni pointed out. "They 'ave creatures with names like Weylan, Ardra, an' Jude fer relatives! It's in their blood! Same goes fer ye, Skip! Ye father was a warrior, a mighty fine one at that! Me, I got nothin'! Me dad was a sailor who went up an' down River Moss transportin' creatures. He didn't do nothin' great. An' I never knew me mother, but she didn't do anythin' great either." he paused for a moment. "Skip, how can I ever be anythin' like that?"

"Well, a moment ago ye certainly seemed determined t' try." Rowe said.

"That was before ye told me I wasn't cut out for it."

Rowe bit his lip. "Mebbe that wasn't the best of words for me t' 'ave used." he admitted, patting Mathoni on the back. "Who am I t' say wot ye'll be a season from now? If ye want t' be a warrior then mebbe that's wot ye'll be. But if ye find ye aren't cut out fer it after all, I 'ope ye can accept that fact an' learn t' move on t' be wot ye _really _are meant t' be."

He patted Mathoni on the back once more, and then walked off, leaving Mathoni to stand and think over what had been said...


	4. Chapter 3

Some final introductory stuff for the Redwall aspect of the story. Another character introduced, and a couple more expanded upon further. The plot moves onward. Next chapter will bounce back to Angola.

Chapter 3

Blackwing never really understood how so many creatures could stay on the ground. It seemed so...restricting. They were stuck on the flat and featureless ground, unable to go any higher or lower unless they ground went higher or lower with them. The ground also seemed so cluttered, with trees and buildings, and other objects that one could run into if one wasn't watching.

But the sky, on the other talon, was just the opposite. There were no boundaries. You could go up as high as you wanted, and you could go down as low as you wanted until the ground rushed up to meet you. There was nothing but air and clouds in the sky to run into, and neither would hurt you, save storm clouds, but Blackwing was smart enough to avoid those.

And the world just seemed so much more beautiful from up in the sky. Blackwing liked to soar as high as he could go into the sky and then look back down at the world below, and see the little shapes of little creatures moving around, in and out of little buildings and walking around little trees. The world seemed so much smaller from up here.

Blackwing was up here in the sky at the moment thinking just that when he heard a whistle, sounding faint from up here, followed by a loud shout.

"Ahoy there, matey!" a voice he knew well called out. "C'mon down for a moment! Got yore favrite 'ere! Candied chestnuts!"

The sparrow swooped down onto Mathoni's location instantly, homing in on his voice. The otter was standing on the eastern walltop of Redwall, and was waving a small satchel, presumably full of the candied chestnuts, at Blackwing. Beak watering, Blackwing dropped down and nimbly perched on the ramparts with the greatest of ease.

"Otterworm Mathoni bring many sweetnuts, yes?" Blackwing asked eagerly.

"Slipped a whole bag's worth out of th' kitchens while Friar Machaerus wasn't lookin'." Mathoni said with a mischievous grin, opening the satchel and holding it out for Blackwing to see the many nuts within. "'Course, added thanks go t' Tobias for helpin'."

Blackwing let out an excited cry at the sight of the nuts, and started flapping his black-colored wings anxiously. Mathoni set the bag down on the walltop, and the sparrow swooped down on the nuts hungrily. As the bird ate, Mathoni pulled out a peach he had gotten in passing from the orchard and started eating it. He watched the bird for a few moments. Blackwing was mostly a dark grey in color with a speckled chest, but that color transitioned into a dark black on his wings, hence his name.

Mathoni began to reflect on how they met. Several seasons back, when Mathoni was in his late in his Dibbun seasons, he had been swimming in the pond with a few friends when a rainstorm rolled in. The call to come inside quickly came from the creature watching over them, but Mathoni hung back to do one last lap. While he did so, the storm started, and blew a sparrow, Blackwing, who was also on his way in to escape the storm, crash landed into the pond, and would've drowned had Mathoni quickly pulled him out.

The storm fully upon them both now, and Mathoni not being strong enough to get Blackwing to the abbey, they both took shelter in the orchard, the trees being bunched close enough together to act like an umbrella in the mild summer storm. It was here that the start of Mathoni and Blackwing's friendship began. It was a rough start; Blackwing was very edgy around any creature that wasn't another sparrow and it took Mathoni awhile to learn how to understand the Sparra language and speak it too.

But it was a friendship nonetheless, and by the time the storm ended and they both exited the orchards, they were friends, and had been ever since. Although only they knew it, and no one else. The sparrows tried their hardest to avoid the Redwallers to the point that no one really saw them, although everyone knew they were there. Rumor was that the sparrows both feared the Redwallers, and didn't trust them, so they kept their distance.

Blackwing confirmed this to Mathoni. Their queen, Queen Sharpclaw, and the elders, all taught the young sparrows to avoid the Redwallers like a plague and to not interact with them. Being a bit xenophobic of other creatures because of it, Blackwing was perfectly content to do just that until that faithful day in the storm.

Now Blackwing learned it was okay to be around Mathoni, though he still kept his distance from other Redwallers, so much so none ever saw the sparrow. Mathoni respected Blackwing's fears, and made sure that only he knew of the sparrow, though on occasion he wished he could tell others, if only to explain where he was and what he was doing at times.

He asked Blackwing once why the sparrows stayed away from the Redwallers, even though both technically lived in the same place, Redwall Abbey. Blackwing's simple reply was that it was law. This led Mathoni to ask why it was law, and got an earful about sparrow history. Apparently, sometime generations ago, the Redwallers and sparrows were friends and allies, and the sparrows weren't ruled by a king or queen anymore, but rather a more democratic leader, who, according to legend, wasn't a sparrow but another type of bird.

What kind, Blackwing didn't know. But according to history, when this leader died, there was no one who could readily take his place. In the turmoil that followed, another sparrow eventually took over as king, and things changed to the way they are now. Mathoni asked what this had to do with avoiding the Redwallers, and Blackwing admitted it didn't have much to do with it at all. That was just how things turned out. Whatever the case, there wasn't much they could do about it, so they just dealt with it.

In secret, they would frequently meet like this on the walltops, with Mathoni drawing Blackwing down with a bag of candied chestnuts, which the sparrow loved, and together they would chat until they decided to part ways, or, more likely, another creature came along and scared Blackwing away. Usually, they discussed nothing in particular, but today, Mathoni had a specific topic in mind.

He waited until the sparrow had eaten most of the nuts before speaking. "Blackwing, do ye think I'm cut out t' be a warrior?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Blackwing asked almost indignantly. "Otterworm Mathoni big and mighty warrior! Do-em much good in battle, sparra know!"

"Thank ye for the vote of confidence, Blackwing." Mathoni said with a grin. "But I've never been in a battle, so how do ye know that for sure?"

"Sparra know! Sparra know!" Blackwing repeated in a chat.

"But _how_?" Mathoni pressed. "Have ye ever been in a battle yoreself?"

"Uh-uh, sparra Blackwing no fightee badworms," was the sparrow's reply, "No killee, quiet-like times."

"Aye, it is a time of peace." Mathoni admitted, almost with a sigh. "Look, I ask because today I was told I might not be cut out t' be a warrior."

"Wormbeast dumb." Blackwing said on the spot. "No knowee what say he."

"I trust 'im." Mathoni said. "In fact, I want t' be just like 'im. Which he, of course, encourages. But unlike us, he _has _been in battles an' th' such. He _knows _wot it's like t' be a warrior. He should know wot it takes, don't' ye think?"

Blackwing thought about it for a long moment, before shrugging silently with both wings.

Mathoni sighed. "Guess wot I'm really sayin' is that I need yore advice." he said, switching gears. "Rowe said he got t' where he did by goin' out an' havin' an adventure. I guess he's sayin' I need t' do the same. Get up and go out _there_." he pointed out at Mossflower Woods on the other side of the wall. "Problem is that I haven't ever really _been _out there. Not on me own, at least." he sighed, leaning on the ramparts to look out at the wilderness out there. "Don't really know wot is out there."

Blackwing hopped back up onto the ramparts and followed the otter's gaze. "Lots of things out there." he said. "Much pretty. Sparra fly high, see all."

"Well, at least somebeast 'ere has seen it." Mathoni remarked with a grin. "Wot's it like out there, Blackwing?"

The sparrow thought for a moment. "Much big." he said, holding his wings out to indicate just how big. "Many things out there. Many wormbeasts, too. Lots of things to see. Much pretty."

"Sounds wonderful." Mathoni said wistfully. "Maybe goin' out there wouldn't be so bad."

Blackwing shook his head. "Much pretty, but much danger." he went on. "Many badworms out there. Got-em many pointy sticks. Sparra work much hard, stay safe."

"Hmm." Mathoni said with a sigh. "Maybe not. By the fur, nothin' is ever easy, is it?"

Blackwing shook his head. Mathoni sighed again.

"An' then there's another problem." the otter went on. "If I do go out there t' 'ave an adventure, like Rowe suggests, where, in the name of Martin, will I go?"

Blackwing shrugged. Then suddenly perked up, hearing something. "Wormbeast coming!" he exclaimed, and quickly took flight.

"Wha-" Mathoni asked with a scowl as he watched the sparrow fly away. "Yore welcome! Which is more than yore goin' t' get next time ye come t' me lookin' for more candied nuts, not even givin' me a thank ye like that, ye feathered pillow with wings! Why I should..."

"Who are you talking to?"

Mathoni spun around to see Charles walking up to the walltop. The shy mouse looked puzzled as Mathoni realized he had overheard his exclamation.

"Um, nothin'." Mathoni said, acting innocent. "Nothin' at all. Why do ye ask?"

Charles looked at him for a long moment in mild disbelief, but he didn't have nerve enough to confront the otter about it, and eventually turned away to avoid eye contact. "I, uh, was sent to find you." he explained quickly. "Skipper Rowe is looking for you. He's in Great Hall."

* * *

Mathoni burst into Great Hall at full speed, skidding on the floor in his haste to meet with Rowe. The Skipper of Otters was indeed where Charles said he would be, but he wasn't alone. Abbot Isaiah was there with him. The wise abbot was currently speaking with Rowe as Rowe listened, nodding his head in agreement. They both turned to look at Mathoni as he approached.

"Ah, young Mathoni." Isaiah said, placing a delicate paw on the young otter's shoulder. "I see Charles told you where to find us as requested. Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Is there somethin' ye want me for, Father Abbot?" Mathoni asked politely.

"Somethin' from th' both of us, more like." Rowe said. "See, we've been talkin' Mathoni, an' we talked a little about our discussion earlier t'day. An' well, I felt bad about lettin' ye down like that, so I wanna make it up t' ye."

"Ye do?" Mathoni asked, hopeful.

"Indeed he does." Isaiah said, nodding. "After discussing the issue for a little while with me, we have both agreed and decided on what it should be." he paused, giving Mathoni a grin. "I understand you're longing for an adventure. Care to have one?"

"Do I ever!" Mathoni exclaimed. Then, deciding that was a little too eager a response, tried again with a calmer response. "I mean, aye, indeed I do, Father Abbot."

"It's not a big deal, really." Rowe said, reaching into the pocket of his habit. "See, I got a friend up in the eastern valley in a little village called Angola. He's a mouse named Mormon. Met 'im durin' me wanderin' days. Anyway, he gave me this."

He pulled out a gold medallion on a chain. Embedded in the medallion was a green emerald. Rowe handed it to Mathoni who studied it in awe.

"Gave that t' me t' give t' me bride when I found one." Rowe said. "Never did, though. Been meanin' t' take it back t' him, but 'ave been kept busy 'ere in Mossflower. Figure wot I need t' do is send somebeast t' give it back t' him for me."

"An' ye want me t' do it?" Mathoni asked.

"Yore okay with that, right?" Rowe asked.

Mathoni quickly saluted the skipper. "Aye, I most certainly am!" he said happily.

Isaiah grinned. "Good." he said. "I have a feeling you will do well, young Mathoni. You should be able handle very well. Now, there will be some things you will need to do first. First off, I want you to visit Sister Mint in the Infirmary and have her check you out. Ask her for a satchel of some basic herbs and bandages while you're at it. Then, you need to go and visit Friar Machaerus and ask, politely, that he put together a haversack of victuals for your journey. You will also need to decide on a route. I believe Linus has a map or two in the gatehouse of the lands east of here. Ask him if he has any of Angola. It should lead you to your destination. You got all of that?"

Mathoni nodded. The abbot grinned.

"Good." Isaiah said. "Away with you now, go get started. You'll leave tomorrow morning, presuming the weather is good for traveling."

Mathoni nodded, and with a quick wave of goodbye with one paw, ran off to get started. Rowe watched him with a grin.

"Well, 'ere's 'opin'." he said. "Either he'll come back a better creature, or he'll come back wiser, an' know wot he's cut out for, even if it's not wot he wanted."

"I think we have nothing to worry about, Rowe." Isaiah said, turning to hobble away. "Mathoni is a good beast. He'll do exactly what is expected of him. Plus, Martin will be watching over him, like he watches over us all."

"Wish that was comfortin' enough." Rowe said, following. "But how can I know that he won't get in any trouble? That he'll stay safe? 'Cause if anythin' happens t' 'im..."

"You underestimate the youth, Rowe." Isaiah said. "He is very observant. He learns quickly. He's very resourceful. And this will be a great learning experience for him. Besides, you yourself said it would be no 'big deal'."

"Delieverin' a medallion t' a friend isn't a big deal." Rowe said. "That's not wot I'm worried about. I'm more worried about 'im goin' off alone like that."

"You can't watch over him forever, you know. Eventually, Mathoni will have to go out into the world on his own."

"The journey won't be easy."

"I never said it would."

"The fastest way t' Angola is t' sail upriver. Wot if somethin' happens t' Mathoni while he's sailin'? Say his craft capsizes or somethin'?"

"He's an otter. He can swim."

"An' then there's Angola itself. The place seems peaceful enough, aye, an' nothin' bad has really happened there in several seasons, but th' place is ruled by _foxes _fer cryin' out loud! Suppose somethin' does happen suddenly, and it pulls Mathoni down with it?"

"It is not Mathoni we should be worrying about." Isaiah said sternly, waving his paw dismissively. "No serious harm will befall Mathoni, that I can assure you."

Rowe gave his abbot a look. "I get the impression ye know more about this than I do, Father Abbot." he remarked.

Isaiah merely grinned knowingly, and kept walking. Rowe was silent for a long moment.

"Father Abbot," he began cautiously, "If we _shouldn't _be worryin' about this liddle journey we're sendin' Mathoni on...then wot _should _we be worryin' about?"

Abbot Isaiah did not reply right away. He looked like he had conflicting opinions about answering that question. "One day soon you will know the answer to that, young Rowe." he finally answered mystically. "But not now. The time is not now."

"Oh it isn't?" Rowe asked, stopping. He didn't like the idea of him being so bluntly kept out of the loop. "An' when will it be?"

"Patience, Rowe." Isaiah said, walking on without the Skipper of Otters. "Everything will be made known eventually, but all in good time."


	5. Chapter 4

Bouncing back to Angola for this chapter. Expands on a few characters, introduces a few new ones, explains in brief what's happened since the prologue, and describes Angola and it's surrounding lands a bit better than the vague descriptions I've purposely been giving up until now. Next chapter might do more with Angola, or it might cover more about Redwall instead. It might be both. We'll see.

On a side note, I'll be starting my first day of college tomorrow (Monday) so don't act surprised if my activity here wanes somewhat. I'm going to try and still be as active as possible, though. Feel free to wish me luck, as well. Butterflies in the stomach at the moment, dontcha know... :)

Chapter 4

In relation to Redwall Abbey and Mossflower Woods, Angola sits in the edge of a valley to the far east of both. The start of River Moss sits not far from this village, falling just short of the village's boundaries. A rather large, but homey, village, it spreads across easily half of the width of this valley before it's borders fade off into the surrounding wilderness, lost in the mass of trees and plants that encircle most of the village's boundaries.

Running right along one side of the village, however, is a range of grey mountains, massive upheavals of stone, rock, and dirt that had been shoved up from the earth at some point in the distant past and had been there ever since. Angola's borders go right up to the edge of these mountains, but doesn't actually traverse up the side of any of these mountains.

One structure, however, does sit on a small plateau that juts out from the side of one mountain and overlooks the Angolian village in it's entirety. This was Midnight Castle, a tantalizing complex structure with many wings, rooms, and towers. It had earned itself it's name by the fact that the castle was entirely out of dark-colored bricks, and was trimmed with genuine silver wherever possible. It made the structure appear as if it was perpetually caught in the light of midnight, which was none.

As sinister as that description sounds, the castle had nothing unwelcoming about it in appearance. In fact, it looked welcoming enough. No creature had a reason to fear it. And why should they? It was here that the royal family, which had always been known to treat Angola well, lived with their servants and members of the royal guard. It's population was mostly occupied by the foxes that ruled, but a large number of mice, most of them willing servants, stayed there as well. Today, Midnight Castle seemed to look it's most beautiful, it's silver trim sparkling brightly in the shine of the late afternoon sun in the middle of spring.

But it's beauty was lost on Kani today.

The fully-grown, but still young, fox stood beside his desk in the royal study, staring out the large window made from a single piece of crystal that filled most of the room's back wall. He had a spectacular view of the Angolian village below, but Kani's eyes weren't focused on that. Currently, the fox felt like he had so much to worry about, he wondered sometimes if his head was going to explode.

He had told Midnight Castle's vixen healer, Bluejay, about his headaches. First off, the healer assured him that his head wasn't likely to explode anytime soon, and then offered that if Kani really wanted to, she could give him a special medicine that should help with his headaches. But she didn't recommend it, as she feared the medicine would make Kani loopy, and besides, the headaches were merely due to stress, and she didn't think that was reason enough to warrant a medicine like that. Kani had no reason to distrust her, so he followed her advice.

Instead, he tried his hardest to just ignore the throbbing pain in his head that came and went. Bluejay was probably right, and it was only due to stress, as the headaches only seemed to come about when Kani allowed himself to get overly stressed about something. Usually they didn't get worse than that, though, which was good. Because when he got _really_ stressed, his stomach started causing him grief, among other things, and then Bluejay really would have to give him a medicine, this one of a different sort, and it's results were never pleasant, so he was often glad to avoid it.

Today, he was stressed over the fact that there was so much that he, alone, had to stress over. Normally, his duties as acting lord weren't so demanding of him, and could be handled well. But times had been changing in Angola. And it wasn't for the better.

There was a polite knock on the chamber door, and Kani grinned.

"Right on time, Mordecai, as always." he called to his servant. "C'mon in."

The remarkably loyal fox entered promptly and approached Kani, bowing slightly once he had come to a stop beside him. "Master Kani, they are ready for you in the entry hall." Mordecai spoke politely.

Kani nodded, and turned away from the window and headed to the door. "All right." he said. "Let's get this over with."

Mordecai followed him and on down the spiral staircase that was outside the room. "I trust you are doing well, then, sir?" he asked politely.

"Well enough." Kani assured him, but couldn't help but rub at his forehead in the process.

"Another headache, sir?"

"It'll pass, Mordecai. Just like all of the ones before."

"They are becoming more frequent nonetheless, sir. I am starting to worry."

"I've spoken to Bluejay about it, and she says they're nothing to worry about."

"Yet, sir."

"Very true. I'm keeping an eye on them, though. That and everything else in Angola."

Reaching the bottom of the spiral staircase and exiting it's landing, they both stepped out into a wide corridor, mostly empty, but there was a small handful of creatures moving about, heading from room to room. As Kani and Mordecai passed, most of them greeted the heir cheerfully, which Kani returned, but he otherwise ignored them.

They turned a corner in the hallway, and were greeted by the presence of another creature, one Kani knew he wasn't going to just get to shrug off.

"Good afternoon Methusael." Kani said.

"Good day, Kani, I trust you're heading to speak to with the royal guard before they leave, correct?" Methusael asked, allowing Kani and his servant to pass him before he followed.

"That obvious?" Kani asked, a touch bitter.

"I don't like having to do this anymore than you do, lord." Methusael said. "It goes against the practices of times past. But so long as we continue having these problems..."

"Methusael, quit beating about the bush." Kani interrupted. "You have news, I know you do. And whether it's good or bad, you're going to tell me whether I want you to or not."

Methusael was silent for a moment as they continued walking. "There was another raid today, around noon." he finally announced, glumly.

Kani sighed. "Were any creatures hurt?" he asked.

"No." Methusael said. "Thankfully. But another cart full of supplies on it's way to the castle was captured. Honestly, I don't see what they hope to gain from this. If they're trying to starve us here in the castle, it won't work. We have other ways of getting supplies."

"It's not us they're worried about, it's themselves." Kani said. "They know we're looking for them, so they know they can't get supplies the traditional way. So they raid traders, merchants, carts full of goods, and other things to get what they need."

"The scum." Methusael muttered.

"Hardly, they're doing what's logical." Kani said, disagreeing. "But my only concern is that no one gets hurt. Goods can be replaced. Lives cannot."

"Lord, with all due respect..." Methusael began, probably to remark that violence may be the only solution.

But Kani cut him short. "I'm not lord yet, Methusael." he said. "I'm only acting lord until mother gets better."

"But what if she doesn't get better, Kani?" Methusael asked. "Her ladyship has been ill for nearly two seasons now, and if anything, she's only gotten worse."

"You'd rather be the voice of doom, then." Kani said flatly.

"Heaven forbid, Kani, I don't want to see Lady Grinta die anymore than anybody else in the castle." Methusael said. "But you have to admit that it's a real possibility. And if and when she passes on, you are now her only heir."

"Don't remind me." Kani growled.

Methusael bit his lip, acting like he had forgotten momentarily that Kani was still very bitter about his brother's brutal death the previous season. After a moment, he opened his mouth to continued speaking, most likely to begin with an apology, but Kani again cut him short.

"Let's just forget about that for the moment and focus on the matters at paw." Kani said. "I just want to get through today and hope for a better tomorrow."

"As do we all, sir." Mordecai said encouragingly. Methusael merely remained silent.

After walking further down the winding hallway, it opened suddenly at the top of a large staircase, which in turn opened into a massive, towering, room, with a pair of large, intricately carved, wooden doors, painted black, stood. Filling the room from the closed door on to the bottom of the stairs was the royal guard, a small regiment of foxes that served as security within Midnight Castle. Kani proceeded on down the staircase until he was about halfway down, where he stopped.

He regarded the creatures that had gathered for a moment before speaking. "Members of the royal guard," he began plainly, "you all know why you're here. For reasons as of yet unknown, there is a party of Angolians out there who have become rebellious and have banded to together to cause trouble. And they have been doing so for the past season. That's why you're gathered here, and why you have been gathering here for so long now.

"We don't know why these creatures are behaving so. It may be nothing. They may just be trying to make a point, or statement, are trying to get something that they for some reason think we aren't listening for." Methusael coughed in disagreement at this. "But they don't seem to want a fight anymore than we do, otherwise they would've start one by now. This doesn't change the fact of what they have done.

"Today, I am told they raided another cart of goods today, on it's way to Midnight Castle. No one was hurt. But according to our laws, it is a crime that can't go unpunished. Hence why you are here. The goals are the same as before. You are to patrol the streets of the Angolian village and look for any troublemakers. Any conflicts arise, and you are to stop it. If you have reason to suspect something, investigate it. But otherwise remain uninvolved in Angolian affairs. I do not want to make us look like the enemy."

Kani paused and looked them over once again and sighed. "You know what to do." he said, waving them on. "Now go do it."

The guards all jointly bowed, the doors were opened, and they all filed out, heading down the path carved into the side of the mountain that led into Angola.

Kani leaned closer to Methusael. "Remind me why I have to do that again?" he asked.

"It's tradition, sir." Methusael replied simply.

"Right." Kani said, turning to go. "Mordecai, remind me to change that later."

"Yes, Master Kani." Mordecai said.

Arriving back on at the top of the stairs, Kani cheered up at the sight of a creature he had inwardly been longing to see for awhile now.

"Mordecai, I do not require your services further for the moment." Kani said quickly to his servant. "You are excused from your duties until...say...this evening."

"Very good, sir." Mordecai replied.

Methusael saw were this was going and resisted the urge to smile. "I have other things I need to attend to anyway." he said, turning to go. "Good day, Kani. Good day, Mordecai."

"Good day, Master Methusael." Mordecai said flatly, also turning to leave. He gave Methusael an almost disapproving glance. It was no secret that the servant didn't like Methusael, being loyal only to the Fennix family.

Kani waited until they had both left, then turned to face the creature fully, grinning broadly. "Adah Eventide, you have a certain knack of showing up just when I need cheering up."

The tall and slender vixen watching Kani, grinning herself, stepped forward. "Well, I enjoy cheering you up." she remarked.

"Indeed." Kani remarked happily. "The headache I had is already gone."

"That's a start." Adah agreed as they started walking off themselves, heading in a direction different Methusael and Mordecai had gone.

It wasn't long before they started talking about nothing in particular. Soon they found themselves walking along a balcony that ran along one side of a room equally as tall the entry hall. Beams of late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the tall windows of clear crystal that lined one side of the room. Below them, other creatures walked by on their business, but they had the balcony all to themselves.

Eventually, Adah took note of where they were unwittingly heading. "Her ladyship is four doors down from here." she noted.

Kani looked up and blinked. "So we are." he said, continuing onward. "I hope she is doing all right."

"How is she doing?" Adah asked.

Kani looked over at her. "Not well." he admitted. "I mean, her condition hasn't gotten any worse, but it hasn't gotten any better, either." he paused for a moment. "I worry about how many days she has left."

Adah was silent for a moment. "Maybe that would be for the better." she remarked. "She would be in a better place, I mean."

Kani shook his head. "I've already lost enough family members the past few seasons." he said. "I don't know if I could handle losing another."

"I'm sorry, Kani." Adah said, looking saddened. "It's been a rough couple of seasons, hasn't it?"

"More than rough, Adah." Kani said, pausing at the door to his mother's room. "Last spring, father died of old age. Late last autumn, mother falls ill to the point that, being the next in line for the title, I take on her responsibilities as acting lord. Then this past winter Hax was murdered. Shortly thereafter this...rebellion...among the Angolians begins. These past few seasons haven't been rough. It's been a plaguing nightmare. I don't need mother dying to be added to that list. Furthermore, I don't know if I can handle being a lord for real just yet."

"But there are upsides to becoming lord, you know." Adah pointed out, then grinned slyly. "I mean, for one thing, a lord would need a lady, right?"

Kani shot her a look. Adah winced.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't funny, was it?" she apologized.

"No, it wasn't." Kani said coldly, leaning on the side of the door. "Adah, you are a very good friend. More than a friend, even. But don't go talking about things you don't understand."

And with that, he stepped into Lady Grinta's chamber. Adah hesitated, then followed. Her ladyship lay in her redwood four-poster bed, as she had done perpetually since she had fallen so ill. Even in the sunlight that was flooding in the room, she did not look well. Lady Grinta's red fur had long lost it's luster, and her whiskers drooped significantly. She wasn't a terribly old vixen, but her flesh seemed wrinkled and creased greatly with old age. She was a awake, peering out her window, but didn't have the energy to do more.

Standing beside the bed, mixing herbal medicines was the healer, Bluejay. Unlike most of the fox populace within the castle, Bluejay's fur was a dark, greyish, fur, that, in the right lighting, tended to blend in with it's surroundings. She also had brilliant blue eyes that almost glowed like sapphires. No one had quite seen a fox like Bluejay before, although Bluejay assured them all that the fur color was a trend in her family line. Still, despite her differences, she was a decent enough, well-mannered, creature and an excellent healer, which was another trend in her family.

The healer vixen looked up from her work when Kani and Adah entered. She bowed politely. "Master Kani." she greeted. "I trust you came to see your mother, then?"

Kani nodded. "How is she?"

"Oh, I could be better, son, but I could be worse too, couldn't I?" Lady Grinta replied for Bluejay. She turned slowly and grinned weakly at her eldest son. "How are you today, Kani?"

Kani returned the grin, kneeling down beside her bed. "I could be better myself, mother." he admitted. "I might not be ill, but I might as well be. Things haven't exactly gotten better around here."

Lady Grinta sighed. "I'm sorry Kani, I wish I could do more to help." she said. "Things just haven't been the same since your father died, hasn't it?"

"It's not just father." Kani said. "We all knew his time had come. It's...others...who I miss."

Grinta nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "Hax died long before his time." she agreed. "And so brutally as well. Good seasons, if I could just get my claws on the creature responsible for murdering my son, my handsome young son..."

"I haven't given up looking for the killer, mother." Kani assured her. "Someday I will find the creature responsible and obtain justice."

"Thank you, Kani." Lady Grinta said, running her claws through her son's fur. "But I fear you're wasting your time. The killer is probably long gone by now. I'm sure he didn't stick around once he had done what he had done. We both need to come to terms with what happened last winter. As much as it hurts to do so, we need to look past Hax's death and to the future."

Kani was silent for a moment. "I miss him mother." he admitted sadly. "I miss Hax so much. If any creature in this castle should've been lord, it was him. He would've known exactly what to do now. How to treat this rebellion, everything."

Lady Grinta nodded in agreement. "But clearly, it just wasn't meant to be."

* * *

"You'll be pleased to hear mother was looking better today." Kani said later, standing out in the courtyard as the sun set before him. "Much more active today. I hope this is a sign that she be getting better. I could use her help now more than ever." he paused for a moment. "I could use your help now more than ever. The whole world seems to be turning upside down now, my dear brother, and it seems to me you were the only creature who could've set all straight again."

He paused again, looking away for a moment. "It's not fair." he said. "It's not fair at all. Why did you have to die? Why you over more than three score other creatures in Midnight Castle? I would even have been willing to die if it meant you would be spared. The creature who took your life must have been cold, cruel, and heartless to have done what he did. He doesn't deserve to live another day."

Kneeling down, he touched the simple gravestone of Hax Fennix mournfully, the grave of his brother positioned so it shared the same view as Midnight Castle, over looking Angola. Kani knew his younger brother had always loved this view. It seemed fitting he would be buried here.

Tears beginning to sting his eyes, Kani's paw clenched into a fist. "I promise, Hax, I'm going to find that creature and make sure he suffers the same death you did, even I have to travel halfway across the world in order to do it." he vowed bitterly. "Somehow, I'm going to find that creature, and then I will avenge your death. Somehow, Hax. Somehow."

But little did he know that the killer was much closer than he thought...


	6. Chapter 5

Another Angola centric chapter, this time focusing on the rebels. Some new characters introduced, but they were created on the spot, so I don't know if they'll be making continued appearances.

Chapter 5

Night had fallen over Angola, and with it, a sense of silence and peace. The village streets were virtually empty by now, everyone having returned to their homes to call it a day. But of course, there was a curfew over the village now, that Lord Kani had reluctantly and almost apologetically bestowed upon the village at the suggestion of another. Exactly who was unknown, though several creatures had logically tried to deduce it.

The only creatures left on the street were members of the royal guard, still patrolling the streets. It was they that was enforcing the curfew, but fortunately they had little need to. Most Angolians acknowledged the presence of the curfew and obeyed it's restrictions. Furthermore, the curfew frequently lined up with the time most creatures in the village returned to their homes for the day anyway, and thus didn't interfere with the normal courses of the day.

Occasionally the royal guard would find stragglers or creatures who hadn't returned to her home, but again, this was no big deal. The royal guard was very kind about the matter, and would politely ask any and all stragglers to return home. Frequently they would escort these creatures back to their homes, but in a nice way, like they were simply leading a lost child back to it's mother, and nobody minded.

If asked, the royal guard would say they did all of this for the safety and well-being of Angola, which probably had some truth to it, but it was well known fact that the curfew was a double-edged sword. The curfew was used to try and weasel out members of the group of rebels they knew to be hiding somewhere in the village. It was a smart plan, but one that was bringing no fruit. The rebels typically weren't too active at night. But they tried anyway.

It all further proved just how much had changed in Angola, and whether it was for the better or for worse was still being argued. Security all over the area had been increased. There was the curfew, which had been being enforced for about half a season now. Raids led by the rebels that were conducted every now and then that further disrupted normal operations within the village. The sense of peace that Angola had harbored for so long had virtually been completely shattered, and slowly and secretly, distrust for one another was beginning to rise.

It all could've been avoided, however. Most, if not all, of these changes were done in direct response to the so-called rebellion. If the rebellion were to stop, everything could go back to normal.

So naturally, Moroni felt responsible for the whole matter.

He asked himself again and again why he was even doing this over the past season, but he didn't really have an answer save for two things. One, he trusted his late father's word and wisdom, and second, he sensed there was something more to this whole situation that just wasn't right. The problem was that he didn't know what it was, and it worried him, because he feared that whatever that problem was, it hinged directly into the matters happening here in Angola.

But whatever the case, Moroni knew there had to be a reason why he was the one who started all of this, and even though he didn't know what it was yet, he felt that was reason enough.

From his hiding spot in-between two houses within the village, Moroni peered out at the cobblestone street beyond. Walking by were two members of the royal guard, looking around at the dark homes and closed shops as they calmly walked past. Like every party patrolling the village, they were in pairs for safety reasons, and this time it had nothing to do with rebels. This was just common practice for the royal guard. They had a very strong belief of looking out for each other.

The two foxes were taking their leisure strolling past, bored, but still on the look out for any trouble just like they should. Moroni pressed himself into the shadows of the space he hid in, worried that he might be seen. Foxes were very intelligent, and furthermore, they had great senses, seeming to sense things that no mouse ever could. Deep down he thought it was a miracle he and his compatriots hadn't been caught yet.

But he thought this every time, and it was really just due to overly stressed nerves. Just like all of the times before when Moroni found himself in these situations, he had nothing to worry about. The two foxes finally passed by, never noticing Moroni's presence. Secretly, the mouse was thankful, as he didn't want to fight them.

He was unarmed at the moment, whereas the foxes were. They carried wooden staves in their paws that were to be the very first weapon they use in any situation, as it was more of a defensive weapon rather than a offensive weapon. Strapped to their belts, however, was a dagger and a sword. Should they ever need something more than a stave, they went for the dagger. But it was mostly just as a show of force; they had little intent to use it. The swords were typically left undrawn.

Seeing the coast was clear, Moroni slipped out of his hiding spot and continued towards his destination. Earlier he had thought about how the rebels were generally inactive at night, but he now realized that wasn't always exactly true. Tonight was proof of it. While they had no plans to cause any trouble, like a raid or anything of the sort, they were to have a meeting and plan ahead for future days. And nights were the best time to do it in, so to avoid the most attention.

They did this regularly enough, but not every night. And when they held these meetings they were always at different locations. One night they could be in the attic of Moroni's own home, or in the secure study in Sister Daisy's home. Tonight it was in the cellar of the home of one of Moroni's friends, Neph. And it was here that he eventually arrived at.

Giving one last look around, Moroni rapped lightly on the door with one paw. There was a long pause, then the door opened a crack, and a face peered out at Moroni. Even though he was wearing a cloak and hood, the creature knew who he was.

"Oh, Moroni, it's you!" Neph said, relieved, throwing the door open. "C'mon, come in before another patrol comes by."

Moroni quickly slipped into the quiet and warm house. Neph gave another quick glance outside before shutting the door and bolting it.

"I think the patrols have doubled, Moroni." Neph said urgently while Moroni shed his cloak. "I've been seeing foxes pass by here much more frequently than normal."

"How many are here for the meeting?" Moroni asked, as Neph politely took his cloak and hung it on a hook. "Did they encounter any problems on their way here?"

"Everyone else is already here, you're the last one to arrive." Neph explained. "And they all reported that they didn't encounter much trouble, but they all noted more patrols on the streets as well. I think the entire royal guard is going on patrol now."

"By the sounds of it, I think you're right." Moroni said, glancing out a window. The dark outline of Midnight Castle could be clearly seen in the distance, candles in it's many windows casting twinkling yellow lights. "That would mean that the castle would be completely unguarded, or at least very close to it."

Neph's jaw very nearly unhinged. "You aren't thinking about staging an raid on Midnight Castle are you?" he asked, alarmed.

"Of course not, Neph." Moroni said sternly. "It's just something to note." he sighed. "C'mon, let's get this meeting over with so everyone can go to bed."

They walked across the relatively empty house to the entrance to the cellar, talking as they went.

"I'm worried, Moroni." Neph said. "It's getting more and more dangerous to do this. Sooner or later we're going to get caught."

"The same thought crossed my mind tonight, Neph." Moroni said. "I know the risks."

"I have to wonder sometimes about that." Neph said, bending over to open the trapdoor that led into the cellar, but pausing. "Moroni, we're behind you no matter what, but really, what do you hope to gain from any of this? Is there even any point to any of this?"

"Father apparently thought there was." Moroni admitted, kneeling down to be on the same level as Neph. "I just wish I knew what he did."

"We all knew Mormon and we all acknowledge how wise he was." Neph said. "But we're all asking the same question...why? Why must we rebel? Is there any point? Seems to me _we're _the ones that are making things worse for everyone else. Rebelling like this, particularly with no real goals in mind, doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere, so why do it?"

"Because something is going to happen." Moroni said. "That much I do know."

"So what is it, then?"

"I don't think it's happened yet."

"Then why do we need to rebel now?"

"I don't know, Neph. I wish I did, I really do, but..." Moroni shook his head. "Call it a gut feeling, but I think we're doing the right thing by doing all of this."

Neph sighed. "I wish we could all share your confidence, Moroni." he said, throwing open the cellar door.

They both climbed down into the cramped cellar. Already inside was about two dozen more creatures, most of them friends and allies of Moroni and Neph, conversing with each other in hushed tones. They broke off their conversations when Neph and Moroni entered, Neph closing the cellar door behind him, and began murmuring greetings to the two. Moroni allowed it to continue for a moment, then waved for silence.

"Thank you all for coming." Moroni said, and then sighed. "I sense that you are all a little panicked about the apparent change in number of patrols out there, and let me be the first to tell you that I'm just as concerned. But this is a bright side to all of this. Now that the entire royal guard is out here on patrols, they can't add many more until they get more creatures, right?"

Several heads around the room nodded in agreement.

"Now, on other matters, let's analyze our progress." Moroni said. "Today there was a raid, what did we earn from that?"

"It was just a cart full of supplies." one mouse, named Ammon, remarked. "Food, some tools, and uh...several bottles of blackberry wine."

"So we have enough food to last us for awhile, some tools to aide with repairs, and more drink than is wise for our health." Sister Daisy commented sarcastically.

"The important thing is that we have supplies." Moroni stated. "By starting this rebellion..."

"I'm not sure this is even a good idea anymore." another mouse, named Amulek, said from the back of the group. "Moroni, don't get me wrong, we all trust you, and we're all your friends, but with each passing day I think..." he paused for a moment, shaking his head. "This rebellion we've started, if you could even call it that, has only disrupted our lives, and made things worse for Angola. The royal guard doesn't know it's us who are behind these raids, but they might as well. We're wanted criminals, and we have to work to hide from the forces of her ladyship. Furthermore, you're talking about overthrowing a governmental system that has ruled us fairly and without problem for more seasons than any of us can remember! Moroni, with each passing day, I think more and more about how...pointless...this all is."

Moroni was silent for a moment. "You aren't the only one." he admitted, glancing over at Neph, who sympathetically nodded in agreement.

"Then why not end this whole thing now and make amends, before we're caught?" a third mouse, named Hyrum, asked. "If you think the same as us, then why are we even still doing this?"

"Because of a gut feeling." Neph replied for Moroni, and upon seeing Moroni's glance, added with a shrug, "Might as well be truthful, mate."

"So we're only here because of a gut feeling?" Amulek asked coldly from amongst the murmurings that followed in the cellar. "You sure that isn't your breakfast disagreeing with you, Moroni? Something you ate, hmm?"

"Do you realize how dangerous what we're doing is, Moroni?" Hyrum asked. "I have a family at home, you know! A wife and two young ones, the eldest no more than two seasons old! Do you realize what would happen to them if we got caught?"

"I have a wife as well, Hyrum, I understand your situation." Moroni said.

"Then why keep this up?" Ammon asked. "I have always trusted you Moroni, by being captain of the militia, but..."

"Hey!" Sister Daisy exclaimed loudly from amongst the murmurings, stepping forward. "Quiet, all of you. Don't forget who really started all of this. Mormon, not Moroni. If it's anybody's fault it's his."

"Excuse me for being blunt, but Mormon's dead." Amulek stated.

"Yes he is." Moroni acknowledged. "But he died trying to tell me something. I don't know how, but he knew that something was happening here in Angola that was troubling, something the rest of us had no clue of, otherwise we wouldn't be asking these questions. Now I realize it seems odd to be putting so much trust into a creature who is...to put it bluntly like Amulek, dead, but we all knew my father. He was probably one of the wisest mice in the country. He didn't lie either. If he said something bad was going to happen, then by golly, it's going to happen! I don't know if it'll happen today, tomorrow, or next season even! But it's soon! Father knew this, and he knew we needed to take action now in order to be prepared for it!

"Now I don't know why. There are a lot of things about all of this I don't know that I would love to know just as much as the whole lot of you. Yes, there are a lot of ifs and unknowns but all of this, but you must show some faith! Mormon knew something bad is happening here, and he turned to us, me specifically, to try and make things right!

"And don't forget Hax! His lordship was murdered by somebeast, almost moments after Father's death that same day. No one ever found out who the killer was, but whoever it was has tried to pin the blame on Angola. Now I'm not trying say anything, but that killer, whomever he or she was, had a motive, and considering somebeast had to die for it, you can bet it's not a good motive! I think that killer is planning something sinister, and I think Mormon knew what it was, and it somehow affects all of us. Now that's reason enough for me..." Moroni paused and surveyed the suddenly silent gathering before him, "...is it reason enough for you?"

There was a long moment of silence. Then Sister Daisy nodded.

"It is for me." she said.

"And me." Neph agreed.

Soon everyone in the room started to voice their agreement. Even Amulek conveyed his agreement to the situation. Moroni smiled.

"Good." he said. "Now I have a few plans for our next move. Right now we have a small selection of weapons collected from our personal stores, but it's not much. Now I don't like the prospect of a fight anymore than any of you. But seeing that we don't fully understand what's going on yet, we need to be prepared for anything, which means we need to get more weapons. Now, you all know of the emergency armory that sits on the edge of Angola's borders. I propose that we plan our next raid around there..."


	7. Chapter 6

Extra long chapter taking place at Redwall today. Covers various things, and continues to flesh out characters. One is technically new. Also introduce another situation that's unfulring somewhere in the world. ;)

Chapter 6

That night at Redwall Abbey, Abbot Isaiah was staying up late. This was rather unusual for the elderly abbot, as he typically went to bed sooner than most due to his extreme age. He simply didn't have the energy for it anymore. But tonight, in the wake of recent events, he had been doing some thinking, and had admittedly gotten himself a touch worried over those matters.

"Suppose for a moment Rowe's right." he spoke aloud for a moment, peering out the window of his study into the dark night, partly lit by the glow of the half-moon. "Suppose that there is cause for concern by sending young Mathoni out alone like that. Rowe said he wouldn't forgive himself if something did happen to the lad, and I am of a similar opinion."

"To quote yourself, Father Abbot, you underestimate young Mathoni." a voice spoke from behind him. "He'll adapt quickly enough to any given scenario, regardless of how unfavorable they might be."

Isaiah turned to face Martin, the warrior mouse standing on the other side of the abbot's desk, leaning against one of the sandstone walls. The abbot gave him a slightly unsatisfied look.

"I only have your word to go on that, you know." he commented.

"We've discussed this before, Isaiah." Martin said calmly. "Nothing serious will happen to Mathoni. I will see to that much."

"I would rather nothing happen to the lad at all." Isaiah retorted.

"I can't promise that."

"And why not?"

"You know why not."

Isaiah fell short at this comment. "You're right." he admitted. "I do. Doesn't necessarily mean I like it."

"Allow me to be the first to agree with you, Isaiah." Martin said, smiling. "But that just isn't how things work."

"Right." Isaiah said, lowing himself gingerly into his desk chair. "But convincing me is one thing, Martin. How are we supposed to convince the others? Rowe has already shown discontent with this whole matter, so I'm sure others will follow. Word of Mathoni's planned journey has already started to spread. I could sense mixed feelings about it at dinner tonight."

"I know." Martin said. "But this is one area that I can't help you much with."

"I was hoping you could at least give me some advice." Isaiah said.

"I could, but you know I won't."

"Aye. But sometimes I think about how much easier things would be if you would just tell me everything."

"True." Martin agreed. "But supposing I did just tell you what to do and all that, whatever would you learn from it?"

Isaiah snorted out a chuckle. "Once again, you have proven just how much wiser you are in comparison to me, Martin." he said.

"I do have a bit of an unfair advantage in that regard." Martin concurred.

They were silent for a moment.

"At the very least allow me to send a pair of creatures with Mathoni as far as River Moss." Isaiah spoke suddenly, getting back on subject. "The lad will need a boat, and as such, he'll probably take the canoe we have stashed away in one of the storerooms, and that can be very difficult to carry on his own."

"Very well, send two creatures with him to carry the boat." Martin said. "But no further than River Moss. I need Mathoni to make the rest of the journey to Angola and back on his own."

"Whatever for, Martin?" Isaiah asked. "I can see that you have something planned, but why such the need for Mathoni to travel alone?"

"A number of reasons." Martin replied cryptically, straightening and brushing dust from his tunic. "I imagine it'll all come clear when Mathoni returns to Redwall with his cohort."

"Cohort?" Isaiah repeated. This was news for him. "And what is _that _about?"

Martin grinned. "You'll see."

* * *

The following morning, the inhabitants of Redwall awoke to another beautiful spring day. Re-energized by the magnificent weather, the Redwallers quickly went about doing their usual morning chores and scarfing down a quick breakfast so they could quickly get outside and enjoy the pretty day.

Mathoni felt equally as energetic, and was anxious to go outside. Even though he had been excused from them by the abbot in favor of the 'quest' (as Mathoni had begun to call it in his excitement) he would be embarking upon today, the otter quickly did his usual morning chores, grabbed some breakfast in passing in Cavern Hole, and was still in the process of eating it when he arrived at the Infirmary to see Sister Mint to continue carrying out the abbot's instructions.

The stern and disapproving healer mouse had a few things to say about that, however.

"Do you mind?" she asked harshly as a couple of crumbs fell onto her head as Mathoni stuffed a biscuit into his mouth.

"Thorry Thifter Minth." Mathoni apologized as he chewed. He swallowed before continuing. "I'm in a 'urry, y'know."

"What youth isn't these days?" Sister Mint asked aloud as she continued to examine the young otter. "Always hurrying somewhere, you young'uns. Can't you just slow down a bit and enjoy life sometimes?"

"I enjoy life!" Mathoni objected indignantly. "Particularly now that I'm bein' sent on me first ever quest."

"Don't exaggerate, Mathoni, it's impolite." Sister Mint scolded. "I've heard everything about this little assignment Skipper Rowe is sending you on, and I disapprove of it. I'm surprised Father Abbot is agreeing to it. Remove your tunic please."

Mathoni yanked the shirt-like article of clothing over his head, exposing his upper body. "T' be 'onest with ye, Sister Mint, I think it was th' abbot's idea t' begin with." he said as Sister Mint continued her examination.

"What, agreeing to this silly assignment of your's?" Sister Mint asked.

Mathoni pulled out another biscuit from his pants pocket. "No, I mean it was his idea t' send me on th' 'assignment,' as ye put it." he explained. "If ye saw his face when he and Skip told me th' plan, I think ye'd agree."

"Perhaps." Sister Mint said. "But I think Abbot Isaiah is setting a poor example for the other creatures in this abbey by supporting this idea."

"Oh, come off it, Sister Mint." Mathoni said, rolling his eyes and biting into his biscuit.

"Don't you take that tone with me, Mathoni." Sister Mint said, and then patted him on the shoulder. "Lie down, please."

Mathoni laid himself flat on the bed behind him, facing upwards. Pulling a wooden, cone-shaped, device from a nearby drawer, Sister Mint pressed the large end against Mathoni's chest and put her ear near the narrow end, listening to Mathoni's heart and breathing. Her whiskers poked at Mathoni's middle as she did so, making Mathoni laugh.

"Hee-hee, that tickles, Sister Mint." he giggled.

One glare from the healer silenced Mathoni instantly. Holding out the glare a moment longer, she then returned to what she was doing. As she worked, Mathoni finished off the last of his biscuit and swallowed. A thought suddenly came to him.

"Just out of curiosity, but can ye 'ear me eatin' and swallowin' with that thing?" he asked, inquisitively.

Sister Mint shot him a repulsed look. Mathoni shrugged.

"Just askin'." he said.

With a sigh, the healer straightened. "That is simply a most disgusting thought, Mathoni." she said, returning the cone-shaped device to it's drawer. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were either Tobias or Illia."

"Uh-oh." Mathoni said, sitting up. "Now wot 'ave ye got against 'em?"

"Those two twins are more troublesome than some of the dibbuns in this abbey." Sister Mint stated as she turned around to pull out a satchel and begin placing herbs into it. "You would never think they're fully grown. Sometimes I wonder what their mother taught them over in Southsward."

"Well, I dunno about their mother, but I know that their father taught 'em t' fight, an' sink me rudder if they ain't good at it." Mathoni remarked, slipping his tunic back on. "I mean, haven't ye seen 'em fight with those swords of their's?"

"They're called rapiers, Mathoni, and as I matter of fact, I have." Sister Mint said over her shoulder. "I disapprove of that, as well. Simply dangerous, swordplay. In these times of peace, I fail to see the need to even practice it."

"If they didn't, wouldn't they kind of ferget it all?" Mathoni asked logically. "'Sides, they do it mostly for show these days. Remember th' mock battle they did with Skipper Rowe, where they only used one sword an' kept passin' it from one t' another at the last feast?"

"Indeed I do." Sister May said, pulling out a selection of clean cloth bandages and placing them in the satchel. "Miracle they didn't hurt themselves."

"I think that's th' point t' their practicin', t' make sure they don't 'urt 'emselves."

"I still don't approve of it."

"Yes, well, ye'd disapprove of th' sun risin' if ye ever got the notion to. A lot of good it'll do ye, as well..."

He was silenced when the satchel slapped into his face and then dropped into his stunned paws. Sister Mint, having thrown the satchel at him, stood there calmly, glaring at him.

"You are to speak respectfully to your elders and betters, Mathoni." she said, and then dismissively turned her back to him. "There are the herbs and bandages you needed. You may leave."

"Good." Mathoni said, jumping up and heading for the door. "I'll bet Friar Machaerus has those vittles I asked for ready."

"Oh, and speaking of that hare, there are some things I need to address to the abbot about the matter of a hare, of all creatures, being the friar of this abbey." Sister Mint remarked aloud, twisting a cloth she had picked up in her paws in frustration.

"Aye, right, wotever, be quiet." Mathoni said, and then quickly ducked out the door before Sister Mint could slap him silly with the cloth in her paws.

* * *

"A touch more salt in that broth, Brother Grant." Friar Machaerus prompted as he strolled past. "Need some more kick to it, dontcha know."

He moved on to where his son stood stirring a soup in a pot. Charles stood silently beside him, chopping carrots for the soup.

"Hullo there, Malachi, how's that stew comin' along?" he asked, standing over the teenaged hare to peer into the murky broth. He sniffed. "Smells mighty good, but does it taste good?"

"I dunno, you tell me, father." Malachi replied with a shrug.

Machaerus took the ladle from Malachi and dipped it into the broth and sampled it. He grinned. "Rule number one of bein' a cook, son." he said, returning the ladle to the pot. "Always taste your creations frequently. Helps you know if you're doin' it right, plus you get t' have a bite over everythin' that way, isn't that right?"

"Of course, father." Malachi said, stirring the soup again.

"Might I suggest adding a few leeks for some added flavor, though?" Machaerus said, patting both Malachi and Charles on the shoulders. "Jolly good. Carry on."

He turned and walked away. Malachi continued stirring the soup while his father was nearby, but the moment he had moved away, the hare quickly switched spots with Charles, so that he was doing the chopping, and Charles was doing the cooking.

"Thanks, Charles." Malachi said, chopping the carrots as carefully as he could, but still wasn't getting them as neatly cut as Charles had been. "Hope I didn't ruin the stew durin' the few moments I had to act like I was cookin' it, there."

"I don't think you're that bad a cook, Malachi." Charles said softly and politely, tossing a handful of herbs into the broth.

"Yes I am." Malachi said, depressed. He placed his elbows on the counter and cradled his head in his paws. "Remember when I tried t' make cherry pie last season?"

Charles didn't reply, but the mouse couldn't help but shudder at the memory.

"See?" Malachi said, his point proven. "I just can't cook, no matter how much I try. Thank Martin I've got you, though, because you most certainly can cook. Just so long as I can make father believe that it's me that's doin' the bloomin' cookin' and not you, then things can get along jolly well."

"You should tell him, you know." Charles said, nodding his head towards Machaerus's back as he helped a molemaid prepare a salad.

"That I can't cook?" Malachi repeated, shooting Charles a look. "Are you mad, Charles? I can't tell father that, he'd never understand. To him, life's all about cookin'. Furthermore, he expects me t' become friar someday, and I don't want to let him down."

"But you hate cooking." Charles said. "Why force yourself to do something you not only hate, but can't do, just so you can please the friar?"

"Just shush, Charles, you just don't understand." Malachi muttered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Machaerus turn to walk back towards him. He patted Charles on the arm "Quick now, we need to switch places again, he's comin' back."

By the time Machaerus arrived again, it was Malachi stirring the soup and Charles doing the cutting again. He grinned in approval, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could, he froze, and then suddenly spun around.

"Hold it!" he exclaimed, pointing a claw at the culprit. "Put the watershrimp back!"

Mathoni, startled by Machaerus's sudden outburst, froze for a moment, then opened his paw, allowing the fistful of watershrimp to fall back into it's bowl.

"Sorry mate." he said quickly, hanging his head.

"Now that we've got that sorted, wot can I do for you, Mathoni?" Machaerus asked, stepping forward and adopting a more friendly attitude.

"I...I just came t' see if ye got that haversack of vittles that I asked for ready." Mathoni said, still a little leery of the friar.

"Oh, that's right." Machaerus said, snapping his claws and looking around the kitchen for the haversack in question. "Here it is. Got everythin' you asked for, plus some that I threw in at the last moment. It'll help a growin' young otter like you keep growin' I'll bet."

"Thank ye, Friar Machaerus." Mathoni said, accepting the haversack from the hare and pulling it over his shoulders.

"I trust you're goin' t' be headin' out then, here soon, eh wot?" Machaerus asked.

"Aye, I'm gonna get a few more things an' then be on me way." Mathoni said, pointing behind him.

"Well, I wish you luck." Machaerus said, patting Mathoni on the shoulder. "As my late bride, Rosemary, bless her heart, would've said, go and have some fun, wot?"

Mathoni grinned, and then turned and leave. "Thank again, friar!" he called. "See ye when I get back!"

Machaerus watched the otter leave the kitchens, and then turned back around, rubbing his paws together as he attempted to recall what he had been doing last.

"Father," Malachi spoke suddenly, "can me n' Charles go and see Mathoni off? Please?"

Machaerus looked at his son for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine, away with you, go have your fun." he said. "I'll watch over the stew."

"Thank you, father!" Malachi said, quickly grabbing Charles's paw and hurrying out of the room.

Machaerus continued speaking even after they had gone, stirring the soup they had left. "I daresay everybody needs a break from cookin' every now and then, wot-wot?" he said with a grin.

* * *

Skipper Rowe stood out on the abbey grounds not far from the gates, looking around in the bright sunlight as he watched abbeybeasts wander about doing whatever it was they felt like doing. As he stood there, Linus walked up carrying a bundle of parchments and had his snout buried in a book. The squirrel very nearly walked past the Skipper of Otters before he quickly backtracked a few paces.

"Hello there, Rowe." Linus said, glancing up from his book and adjusting his reading glasses. "I trust you're waiting for Mathoni to finish getting ready to leave, then."

"Aye." Rowe said, nodding. "Should be comin' along 'ere shortly."

"You really think he's up for this, then?" Linus asked.

"I'm not completely sure." Rowe admitted. "But I think that's part of what this little journey's goin' t' be about, mate, to find out for sure."

Linus gave him a long and puzzled look. "I suppose." he admitted. He shook his head and looked back at his book. "Anyway, I've taken the liberty of doing some research on Angola, and I wanted to ask you if..."

"Oof!" Rowe exclaimed as he was suddenly tackled from behind by a much smaller squirrel. "By the fur...?"

"Alexander!" Linus scolded.

"Gotcha mate, ain't that great?" Alexander squealed as he dangled from Rowe's shoulders.

Rowe pried the squirrel off of him with a grin. "Don't tempt yore fate, mate." he scolded, playing along with Alexander's rhyming game.

Alexander giggled. Rowe lowered him to the ground.

"Now shush, ye little scamp, yore father's talkin' t' me." he told the youth, and then turned to Linus. "Sorry, matey, now wot were ye sayin'?"

"Ah yes." Linus said, looking back at his book to get back on track. "Anyway, like I was saying, I was doing some research on Angola, partly for that map Mathoni requested, but also..."

"Speakin' of which, did ye find one?" Rowe asked, as Alexander knelt down to pick up a insect that was climbing along the ground.

"Huh?" Linus said, distracted. "Oh, the map! Uh, yes, I did. Bit out of date, but should still work." he pulled out a parchment and handed it to Rowe to study. "Anyway, as I was saying, I've been doing some research on Angola, and...well...I must admit I'm worried."

"Lemme guess, ye figured out who rules over there." Rowe said, holding up a paw momentarily to silence Linus.

Linus nodded. "Foxes." he said. "Confirmed vermin."

"Not these foxes, mate."

"Regardless of the fact, they're still foxes." Linus pressed. "Are we sure we really want to be sending Mathoni over to this place?"

"Foxes eat lotses in boxes." Alexander rhymed absentmindedly while letting the insect crawl over his claws.

Rowe and Linus glanced down at him.

"'Lotses'?" Linus repeated.

"It rhymes." Alexander said in his defense.

"How about ye try loxes, mate." Rowe suggested.

"What are loxes?" Alexander asked innocently.

"Some kind of smoked salmon that I've 'eard is popular in th' northwest." Rowe said with a shrug. "I dunno, I've never had it. Speakin' of which, I can't remember if it's pronounced 'loxes' or just 'lox'..." he shook his head. "Anyway, getting back t' yore question mate, no, I'm not sure. But Abbot Isaiah is, so I guess that counts t' somethin'."

"So the abbot is giving his complete approval to this." Linus summarized.

"Aye." Rowe replied, nodding. "Funny thing about it, though, is the fact that he seemed t' know somethin' I didn't."

"Like what, I wonder." Linus commented, pulling at his whiskers in thought.

The matter was set aside when one of the two double doors leading out of the main building of the abbey swung open, Charles and Malachi jointly pushing it open and then holding it open. A moment later, Mathoni appeared, grunting as he dragged a large and heavy canoe out the door, the claws on his footpaws skidding on the worn stone steps as he sought the traction he needed to pull the craft outside.

He had only gotten it about halfway out the door when Tobias and Illia arrived.

"Here, we'll help ye with that, mate." Tobias said as the twins jointly bent over and lifted the canoe up to carry over their heads.

"Always ready t' help, we are." Illia added as the two started down the steps.

Mathoni watched them go, not entirely sure how he should react to this. "Um, thanks, mates." he said as Charles and Malachi closed the door behind him. "But I think I can manage it meself."

"Mathoni, me matey, ye were 'ardly gettin' much further than three feet, tryin' t' manage this thing yoreself." Tobias said.

"'Sides, if we don't help ye carry this t' River Moss, then wot are we goin' t' carry th' whole way there?" Illia asked.

"Ye mean you're comin' with me?" Mathoni asked as he followed alongside the two Southsward otters.

"Only as far as th' river, mate." Illia said.

"Aye, figured last night that ye was probably gonna need some 'elp carryin' this thing that far." Tobias added.

"So this mornin' we went t' th' abbot t' ask him if we could." Illia continued.

"But we didn't 'ave t' say a thing, mate." Tobias said. "Father Abbot said he was just about t' come lookin' for us t' ask us t' do the very same thing, wouldn't ye know it."

"Guess we were both thinkin' th' same thing." Illia remarked. "That's wot always amazes me about Abbot Isaiah. Very perceptive, he is."

"Oh, well, in that case, I guess yore welcome t' come along." Mathoni said with a shrug.

"Thank ye, mate, we're glad t' be able t' come along." Tobias said, grinning.

They continued on up to the gates where Rowe and Linus stood waiting, Charles and Malachi trailing behind them.

"G'day, Skip." Mathoni said as he arrived. "I'm ready t' go! See, I got supplies, an' those herbs n' stuff, I let Sister Mint look me over, an' apparently Tobias and Illia got th' canoe under control, so all I need now is a map and few farewells."

Rowe handed over the map Linus had given him earlier. "'ere ye go, mate, this 'un should work nicely." he said. "Ye armed?"

"Got a sling." Mathoni said, patting his waist where it was tied to his belt next to a pouch of pebbles. "Do I need anythin' else?"

"How about a stave?" Linus suggested. "Even if you don't use it as a weapon, it would make for a good walking stick. Alexander, could you go get one from where they're kept near the pond?"

Alexander nodded and quickly ran off. He returned a few moments later with one of the wooden staffs and handed it to Mathoni.

"This stick should do the trick!" he commented with a giggle.

"Enough with the rhymes already, liddle matey." Rowe said, ruffling Alexander's ears. He turned back to Mathoni. "Let's see, I think that's everythin', so I say yore good t' go, so let's get ye going."

They opened the front gates. The action drew some of the surrounding Redwallers over, all gathering around to send off Mathoni as well.

Rowe walked Mathoni out onto the path, and then placed paws on both of the otter's shoulders.

"Ye got th' medallion, right?" he asked quickly.

Mathoni pulled it out of his pocket and held it up, it's emerald glinting brightly in the sunlight. Rowe grinned and nodded.

"Good luck, Mathoni." he said. "Stay out of trouble, y'hear?"

"I will." Mathoni promised. "I'll make ye proud, ye'll see."

"I don't doubt it." Rowe said. "I just hope everythin' works out for ye. It's the lest ye deserve. Now go on and get goin'. See ye when ye come back."

"Bye, Skip!" Mathoni said, hurrying out onto the path.

Tobias and Illia followed along with the canoe, also saying their goodbyes. The Redwallers that had gathered to see them off all chimed in and said or waved goodbye, and soon Mathoni was off on what he hoped would be a great adventure...

* * *

Elsewhere in the land, however, someone was returning from a journey, and word of that return and what they learned spread quickly throughout the place they had arrived at. Very soon, the news reached some very important beasts within the settlement and everything was explained to them. Two of these beasts were then sent down into a catacomb of tunnels that sat below the structure they all resided in.

They were an odd pair. One was a mouse. The other was a weasel. Walking side by side, these two clean and almost proper looking creatures made their way through the rocky caverns, alternately made out of brick or some of the surrounding bedrock. They both wore long, sky-blue habits made of a simple cloth, and both carried a staff. The staff's were intricately carved with unusual symbols and patterns, and set in the top of both staffs was a blue sapphire.

An odd symbol, no two symbols being exactly alike, were tattooed to each creature's right cheek, the mouse's being different from the weasel's and so forth. Another, much smaller, tattoo, this one identical to the one the other had, had been placed on both of their brows. The faces of both creatures were still and emotionless. They had been given an assignment, and they weren't even so much as thinking of doing any else until it had been carried out.

As they walked down the winding tunnel, they passed several torches that provided for the catacomb's only light, each torch producing a bundle of lapping blue flames. The blue light was further enhanced as the light reflected off of the many sapphires, both big and small, that the walls of the tunnel was riddled with. Were any other creature in this tunnel, their eyes would probably glaze over with greed at the very least, but the mouse and weasel were not such creatures. The sapphires were ignored.

Finally, the tunnel straightened, and then widened into a small, circular cavern, also lit by the same torches of blue flames as the rest of the catacombs. The mouse and the weasel came to a stop and stood silently in the middle of the room, their staffs planted into the floor. Their eyes were focused on only one thing in the room. Like the rest of the catacombs, this cavern had many sapphires riddled in it's walls, but none of those even compared to the sapphire that sat in the center of the far wall.

Put simply, it was enormous. A sapphire of this size had quite possibly never existed before. Appearing to be perfectly round, although it was difficult to tell as part of it was embedded directly into the wall, the sapphire's length stretched from the curving ceiling of the cavern down to where it stopped just short of the smooth and worn floor. It's width was easily equal to it's length. It was this that the mouse and the weasel focused their eyes upon.

A moment of silence fell, the two creatures looking like they were waiting for something. And then, without warning, a light started to glow, looking like it came from within the massive sapphire itself. When the glow reached it's peak, bright enough that the light emitted from the torches would no longer be necessary, the mouse and weasel simultaneously stooped down into a respective bow, dropping down to one knee.

There was another moment of silence, this one not nearly as long. Then, a powerful, echoing voice filled the cavern. It's source was difficult to pinpoint, but like the mysterious light, it seemed to come from within the large sapphire.

"You may speak." the voice said.

"Hallowed Gemini," the mouse began speaking, not looking up from his bowing position, "the scouts have returned, and they bring news. They have found many creatures who have strayed from thy holy path, including a large fortress of stone filled with unrighteous creatures. It is all located to the southeast from here."

"It is as I have foreseen." the voice spoke. "These lost creatures who have wandered from the path of righteousness must be led back and repent of their sin before they become too corrupt with wickedness. Go now, and rally together your fellow members in the Quorum of Teachers. Make plans without haste to go out and begin spreading my righteous word immediately. My almighty paw shall help guide you. Now go."

"Yes, hallowed Gemini." both the mouse and the weasel chorused together. "Praise be unto thy holy name."

And with that, the light subsided, and the voice spoke no more. The two creatures straightened and stood, then jointly turned around and exited the chamber to carry out their new orders...


	8. Chapter 7

A kind of ho-hum chapter as nothing spectacularly special happens. A few things are shown that further things along, and we meet yet another character for the first time. Next chapter should captivate your interests better, however. ;)

Chapter 7

"Kani..."

Kani involuntarily shuddered, a chill sweeping down his spine, the cold seeping in through his fur and skin to reach towards his very heart.

"Kani..."

He seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once. Masses of indistinct shapes surrounded him on all sides, fading in and out in the grey mist that seemed to surround him, but couldn't be felt or sensed by any other sense. The chill returned again, and Kani brought his limbs closer to his body to retain the heat.

"Kani..."

The voice was echoing out again, very loud, and yet at the same time, merely a whisper. One shape in the tangle before him seemed to stand out. It was a creature, but Kani couldn't make out who. He felt that he should know, though. Concentrating, he tried to make out the whispering and what was being said.

"Kani..."

"Master Kani. Master Kani. Master Kani!"

Kani awoke with a start, his bed sheets all tangled around his body, his fur drenched with sweat. Mordecai stood beside the bed, looking worried. He quickly reached out to help Kani untangle himself.

"You appeared to be having a dream, sir." Mordecai quickly began explaining, Kani being about to ask. "A very bad one by the looks of it. You were tossing and turning and moaning. You were making quite a racket sir, with all due respect. I could here it from my bedchamber down the hall."

Kani sat up and looked around, panting to regain his lost breath. "Did anybody else hear?"

"Not to my knowledge, sir." Mordecai said, disentangling the last of the bed sheets off of the fox and pulling them aside. "Most of the creatures in the castle appear to be asleep still."

Kani thought about that for a moment. "Good." he said. "Mordecai, I wish to keep this...nightmare...secret for now."

"Very good sir." Mordecai said, taking a jug of water from the bedside table and pouring Kani a glass. He handed it to Kani. "If I may ask, sir, what was the dream about?"

Kani drained the cup, and thought about it for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure." he admitted. "But the dream has made me decide to do something that not everyone's going to be happy with..."

* * *

It was times like this that he felt the most guilty. The orders had just arrived stating that the Angolian militia was to be mobilized and would be put to use putting an end to the rebelling creatures known to be somewhere within Angola. There was mixed opinions about that, namely the fact that no one was entirely sure who to trust anymore, but Master Kani stated in the message that was sent that he was confident that most, if not all, of the creatures in the militia were still loyal to Lady Grinta's rule and would be able to help.

Little did his lordship realize, however, that the very leader of that rebellion was also captain of the militia.

Moroni peered glumly out at the sea of faces that formed the militia. Four score mice had gathered to the call to rally together, with another score on the way. They had all dressed themselves in standard armor, and had armed themselves in a similar manner to the way the royal guard had been arming themselves; a simple stave and a dagger, while some carried swords that would likely be never used.

From among those faces, Moroni could see the determined expressions of all the creatures who were with Moroni, for better or worse, in their little rebellion. Neph, Ammon, Amulek, Hyrum, they were all here, save Sister Daisy, who was naturally not a member of a militia by being both a healer and female. Moroni was thankful for this one fact, as he wasn't entirely confident the poor sister could keep her wits together and outright lie to these creatures.

For that was what Moroni was going to have to do. A large majority of the militia had no part in the rebellion, and some had become very outspokenly against it. Moroni, as captain, would have to give them the details of their orders and lead them as they were carried out, but Moroni couldn't lead them straight to the members of the rebellion, or he might as well stand up say "I'm behind it all! Arrest me!"

He was half-tempted to, but he knew he couldn't, not now. He was in too deep, and besides, if he was captured, so would the rest of the rebellion would be, and they had their own families and friends to look after. He didn't want to have to be the creature who ruined all of that. Besides, he honestly didn't think he'd still be captain of the militia by this point. He had thought he would've been discovered and forced to go into hiding at the very least, but everyone still didn't have any ideas of who the rebels _really _where.

Hence the feeling of distrust that seemed to be everywhere this way. It made Moroni feel sick to his stomach. Yet again he wondered what the point to the rebellion was. Everything was fine until it all started. Then everything _wasn't _fine, and it seemed to be his fault. Why did his father want him to do it? Was Mormon perhaps not in his right mind when he died? Or, scarier yet, had Moroni misinterpreted his instructions? Possibly he acted too soon?

Yet somewhere deep down within was a feeling that he was doing the right thing, just strong enough to stop him from ending it all. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him, and apparently it was enough for the others in the rebellion as well, though just barely. It was really putting everyone's faith and loyalties to the test.

"If this _is _a test, then it had better end soon, before things _really _get out of paw." he muttered under his breath, and then turned his attention to the militia.

"Gentlebeasts," he began, "I'll make this quick. Today, I received an urgent message by messenger containing orders from Midnight Castle today. We, as a militia, are to join in the hunt for the rebels we know to be within Angola. You know that there are several creatures who believe we cannot be trusted at this time, but Lord Kani, bless his heart, believes otherwise. And as everything else hasn't seemed to work, he is taking action to turn the tables, so to speak. Your orders are simple. You are to patrol the streets and search for any suspicious activities. Find any, and you are to investigate it. Otherwise you are to not interfere with the business within the village. At night, you are to join the royal guard in their patrols. Everybeast understand?"

"We understand, and we're with you, captain!" someone within the gathering shouted.

A cheer then followed showing their trust to the militia leader. It pained Moroni to know that their trust was betrayed.

"Right then." Moroni said once things had quieted down, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. "Let's get started then."

The militia let out another cheer, and quickly streamed out of the little courtyard they had gathered in and onto the streets of Angola, slipping past Moroni, who just stood there numbly, hardly listening to the confident cheers, the words of praise, and the pats on the back he received in the process. Finally, it was only him left in the courtyard. Him, and the other members of the rebellion, who seemed to feel the same way.

"Obviously, _they _suspect nothing." Amulek commented bitterly.

"Almost makes you wish they did, though. Doesn't it?" Moroni said quietly.

"Moroni, are you still confident about all of this?" Hyrum asked. "I mean, I feel terrible having to act and lie to everyone, pretending I'm not involved in all of this, so if I feel bad, you must feel ten times worse, being the ringleader of it all."

"That's a fair assessment." Moroni said, nodding. He sighed. "One thing is sure. If we intend to continue with our little rebellion, we need to step up our plans."

"You mean that raid on the armory we discussed the other night?" Neph asked.

Moroni nodded. "We need to carry out those plans." he said. "Now, or it'll be too late."

* * *

Plans were quickly made right there and then to begin, in secret. Everyone left to gather the other males to conduct the raid, save Moroni. He went straight home. There was one thing he wanted to do first.

"Ruth?" he called as he entered his small cottage that sat beside the town square. "Ruth, are you home?"

Within the kitchen doorway, a lovely, but depressed-looking mousewife peeked around the doorframe. She had apparently been in the process of half-heartedly washing a pot, for she still carried the rag and pot in her paws. The brown headband she wore over her head was slightly disheveled. Her eyes widened happily as she saw Moroni standing there, and without warning rushed over and embraced her husband in a heartfelt hug.

"Oh, Moroni, you're home safe." she said thankfully.

"I was only gone for a few minutes." Moroni said, frowning, believing his wife was overreacting slightly.

"Nevertheless, it's always good to see you safe." Ruth commented. "You know how I feel about this silly rebellion, and the danger and the lies and...everything." she gripped her husband tighter. "Moroni, I hate it all. Why must we do this?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Ruth." Moroni said, pulling his wife out of the embrace. "But whatever the case, I need you to stay strong until the very end."

"I'm trying, Moroni, I am trying." Ruth assured him, then bit her lip for a moment. "But I don't know for how much longer I can hold out."

"Hopefully not too much longer." Moroni said. "Things will probably go from bad to worse before they get better, but I think we're getting closer to the end. And I'm confident we'll all get through this. Somehow."

Ruth nodded, looking down at her footpaws. "Moroni, I know that the militia has been sent out to find...well...us." she said. "Tell this means you're going to cut back on the risks."

Moroni sighed as he grabbed a helmet from a shelf. "I wish I could, Ruth." he admitted. "But I can't. Not yet. We need to take one more risk at the very least."

Ruth paled, seeing where this was going already. "What kind of risk?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"We're raiding the armory, today."

"Moroni, no! You'll get caught!"

"You don't know that. Ruth, as much as I hate to admit it, but we need to do it sooner rather than later. I just know things are going to escalate into an armed conflict. Hopefully no one will be seriously injured. But in order to avoid that, I simply _must _guarantee that we're all properly armed." He paused, looking at his wife. "You don't want to see lives being lost because we were ill prepared, do you?"

"I don't want to see _any _lives lost." Ruth pressed, but after a moment, she reluctantly nodded. "Yes, I see your point."

"Then please, Ruth." Moroni said. "Allow me to do what I need to do." he started to leave again. "I'll be back soon." he told her. "Everything will work okay, you'll see."

Ruth nodded as she watched him go, but deep down, she didn't believe it.

* * *

At present, only a select few of the royal guard were standing watch over the small shack-like structure that severed as an emergency armory in the event of an attack on the border they guarded. An invasion had never occurred at Angola in many seasons, but everyone knew that it was better to play it safe.

At present, there was five foxes standing guard at the shack, all positioned at different areas around the building and facing in different directions. They weren't expecting much of anything to occur today. Almost wearily, they paraded around doing their duty. The area was clear and wide open for several feet around them, the village of Angola to one side, and the edge of the forest at the other. In-between this space was nothing but tall, yellowing weeds. Even though it was spring, the sun shining down on them was hot and relentless like it was summer.

One fox circled around on his patrol and came to stop for a moment, leaning heavily on his stave, and sighing. He brushed sweaty fur from his eyes.

"Too hot t'day." he commented to himself. "Wish there was a river or somethin' of the such runnin'..."

He cut himself off suddenly as his sensitive nose picked up a new scent suddenly. Frowning, not used to detecting this sent here, he moved about trying to pinpoint it, as well as identify it. As the scent grew stronger, he frowned some more. It smelled like a mouse, but the mice seldom traveled out here...

A slingstone then smacked into his skull, knocking him out cold. He toppled over and fell down flat on his back. Amulek poked up his head from where he hid in the weeds, then quickly ducked back down as he saw another fox approach, having seen the first fall out of the corner of his eye. He waited a moment, then sling another stone at the new fox. That one was dropped without a sound as well. The side of the shack was now unguarded for the moment.

Quickly, Amulek turned and signaled to the others to come forward. The other rebels hurried forward, keeping low and concealed in the weeds and approached the shack quickly. Once there, Hyrum, who was a carpenter by trade, pulled out a saw and carefully cut a hole into the side of the building, as there was no door they could use. Once the hole was weapon, they all started reaching into the shack and pulling out the weapons, gathering them into bundles, and then hurrying them off into the woods where they had hidden a cart. Once unloaded, they went back to get more.

All the while, Amulek hid in the weeds and kept watch. At one point he had to down another fox, who very nearly caught the whole group off guard by suddenly rounding the corner. He, like the other two, went down without a sound, and probably saw little. It wasn't too long before they were mostly finished cleaning the armory out. By that time, it was clear that the other foxes suspected something was happening, but they hadn't appeared just yet at the scene of the raid.

Finally, the last weapon was pulled from the building. Hurrying away with it, everyone pulled back and vanished with a trace. Not long after that, the other two foxes finally discovered the unconscious foxes and quickly worked to revive the three. Once they were up and conscious again, the five looked for clues as to the raid, but by that point the rebels were already gone.

But unbeknownst to everyone, there was a six creature who had seem everything from a hiding spot from afar, and his ever calculating brain worked to apply this new development to his plans...


	9. Chapter 8

Things go from bad to worse. Also an update on Mathoni's progress to counteract the negativity of the chapter.

Chapter 8

There was a knock at his door. Kani looked up from the parchment he had been reading at his desk.

"Come in, Mordecai." he called.

His servant fox opened the door carrying a tray in his paws. "I have taken the liberty of bringing you lunch, sir." he said, bringing the food-laden tray to the desk.

Kani glanced at the tray and then waved at it with one paw. "Thank you, Mordecai, but you can take it away." he said, turning back to the parchment. "I'm not hungry at the moment."

His stomach then growled in betrayal. Kani froze for a split second, then sighed. Mordecai simply stood there awaiting commands.

"Then again," Kani began, "I suppose it would keep my strength up..."

Mordecai smiled a rare grin and placed the tray in front of Kani. Sighing again, Kani slowly picked at the meal and started eating. Mordecai stood nearby, watching, even though he had no real reason to. Kani gave him a curious glance.

"Something else on your mind, Mordecai?" he asked politely, biting into a roll.

"Yes, Master Kani." Mordecai said with a nod, then hesitated for a moment. "I was debating about inquiring again about what happened this morning."

Kani paused, mid-chew. He swallowed. "You want to know more about that nightmare." he stated.

"I am understandably curious." Mordecai said.

"I suppose there is no real reason to keep you out of the loop, then." Kani admitted. He sighed yet again. "There's not much to tell, really. I didn't see much in this dream, just many indistinct shapes, creatures I think. At least one was speaking to me, calling my name over and over again." He shrugged. "That's about it. Looking back, there doesn't seem to be anything special about it."

"You did mention that it was because of the dream that you decided to employ the Angolia militia to join the search for the rebels, sir." Mordecai said. "Did the dream perhaps request you do as such?"

"That's the odd thing, because it didn't." Kani said. "Not to my knowledge, at least. But when you woke me up, my mind was...filled...with the want to do it, so I just naturally attributed it to the dream." he poked his fork at a wedge of yellow cheese for a moment. "What do you suppose it all means, Mordecai? Do you think it was a mere dream, imagined by pure chance?"

"I do not profess to be an interpreter of dreams, Master Kani." Mordecai pointed out. "But it would seem to me that your dream means something important, that there is some kind of meaning to it all, one deeper than the ones we ourselves have determined. In short, I believe your dream did not happen by pure chance, sir."

"You're saying that I had that dream for a reason." Kani concluded.

"Yes sir."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"I also believe you were wise to keep it a secret between the two of us, sir."

Kani glanced at him. "That special, huh?" he asked.

"Perhaps, sir." Mordecai said. "But I was thinking more about what the other inhabitants in Midnight Castle might think were they told of this dream."

Kani nodded, catching on. "Yes, they may not take to it well." he agreed.

"Particularly on the fact that this dream clearly influenced you to make the choices you did this morning." Mordecai said.

"How are the creatures down there reacting to that?" Kani asked, curious.

"Opinions are mixed, sir. Some believe it to be a wise choice, others are more indifferent, trusting that you know best. There are some, however, who have verbally been wondering aloud if you are truly the right creature to be making such choices."

"That bad?"

"It would seem so, sir. I think it is a simple matter of distrust to the Angolians, however. They will eventually come to terms with the matter and that'll be the end of it."

"Presuming, of course, that nothing else goes wrong between now and then, Mordecai." Kani said flatly.

It was just after Kani had said that sentence that Methusael suddenly stormed into the room, slamming the door open with a bang. Startling both creatures in the room, the apparently angry fox marched right up to Kani's desk, pushing past Mordecai.

"Methusael!" Kani exclaimed, reprimanding. "What's the meaning of this? You know I don't like it when you just barge in here without..."

"There was a raid on the armory on the borders of the village." Methusael interrupted bluntly.

Kani's eyes went wide, and he rose from his chair slowly. "When?" he asked.

"Just before noon." Methusael reported. "I only just got word of it."

"Was anybeast hurt?"

"Three members of the royal guard had been stunned by slingstone, but no beast was any more severely injured than that. They all saw little, however. One managed to catch a glimpse of the creatures in the act, mice, as I suspected, but not enough of a glimpse to identify any of them."

Stunned, Kani slowly plopped back down into his chair. "Why?" he asked aloud, mostly to himself. "Why would they do that?"

"They stripped the armory clean, Kani." Methusael continued. "You know why."

"Methusael, I will _not _accept your bloodthirsty theories at the moment."

"But you can't deny the truth any longer, Kani." Methusael pointed out. "Clearly, those rebels intend to start a war."

* * *

"Okay, my turn. Um...I spy with me liddle eye...somethin'...dusty."

"The dirt on th' path, obviously."

"Aye. Yore turn."

"Let's see...I see somethin'...dark."

"Th' inside of this bloomin' canoe. Ye smart aleck, couldn't ye 'ave been a touch more creative than that?"

"Ye guessed it either way, so now it's yore turn."

"Right. Hmm...I spy somethin'...hee-hee...somethin' tall, red, and white."

"That don't count. Yore thinkin' of the western tower of Castle Floret back in Southsward. No way ye could've seen that, Illia."

"How do ye know that I don't 'ave excellent eyes, Tobias?"

"'Cause, no creature has _that _good a pair of eyes. 'Sides, I'm yore twin. Wouldn't ye think I'd 'ave just as good vision?"

"Not unless it's a trait only females get."

"So yore sayin' females are better than males, then? Remember wot father always used t' say, Illia. All creatures are created equal."

"I ain't sayin' females are any better than males. At least, not t'day. But it's entirely possible t' 'ave that kind of vision."

"Oh really?"

"Of course. How else do ye think mother always knew when ye got in trouble, no matter where she was?"

"Huh. I suppose I can't argue with that."

"Case an' point, then."

Mathoni rolled his eyes at the antics of the two twins and grinned. They had been talking nonstop ever since they had left the abbey. Normally such persistent chatter would've driven Mathoni up a tree by now, but one just couldn't get mad at Tobias and Illia for such little things. For one, their conversations never got old, Mathoni really had to work to not burst out laughing at times. For another, one couldn't help but like them. Mathoni was really glad to have them as company for this part of his journey.

Furthermore, they got the carry the canoe, and not him.

Leading the two otters as they carried the canoe over their heads, Mathoni marched confidently down the travel-worn path, poking his stave at the ground as he marched. Pausing for a moment to survey the area, thinking that made him look very skilled at this sort of thing, he glanced up at the sun, seeing it was afternoon, and rubbed at his stomach hungrily.

"Think it's time for lunch, mates?" he asked. "I'm starvin'. Breakfast seemed like ages ago."

"It was ages ago, mate." Tobias agreed as he and Illia came to a stop behind Mathoni. "If ye count a couple of hours as ages."

Illia stifled a giggle.

Mathoni shot them both a glare. "Har-har." he said, and continued marching.

"Actually, it shouldn't be too much longer afore we get t' the river." Tobias continued. "Once ye've set sail there, ye can probably stop an' eat as ye paddle upriver."

"I dunno, Tobias, that might be a bit difficult for a young'un like him t' manage." Illia commented behind him. "We can only do it, 'cause we're pure bred daredevils an' we do such things in our spare time."

"Oh, pshaw, Illia, don't make us seem any greater than we already are." Tobias said jokingly. "'Sides, it ain't that hard. All it takes is a liddle practice, an' then..."

"Hey!" Mathoni suddenly exclaimed, and broke out into a jog.

"Hey, wait, Mathoni!" Tobias said, as he and Illia quickly hurried to keep up. "Slow down, mate, we can't go as fast with this canoe over our heads!"

Mathoni wasn't listening. "Water!" the otter exclaimed excitedly, pointing ahead. "I hear water! The river's just ahead!"

"Oh dear, no stoppin' him now." Illia said, laughing. "Real excited 'bout all of this, him."

"Real bee in his bonnet, alright." Tobias agreed. "Like mum would've said. 'Who stepped on yore tail t'day,' remember? Ah, those were the days."

They reached the banks of River Moss in short time, looking at the spot where the path joined with a ford in the river. Eyes bright with excitement, Mathoni looked the river up and down in exhilaration. Stepping down to the bank, Illia and Tobias set the canoe into the water just above the ford. Mathoni quickly clambered into the boat and picked up the paddle, ready for action.

"Guess this is where our paths spilt, then." Tobias announced. "We'll give ye a push off t' get goin', then I guess we'll be seein' ye, mate."

"Aye, guess so." Mathoni said, reaching over to shake Tobias's paw. "Thank for all of th' 'elp. Made things go much faster, that much is certain."

"It was our pleasure, Mathoni." Illia said. "One last thing before we part ways, though. Ye still certain ye can make it alone? It's not too late, we can tag along with ye, if ye want."

"Well, I'll admit I don't know wot's ahead of me." Mathoni admitted, pointing upriver with the handle of his paddle. "But I want t' do this on me own. Skipper Rowe asked me t' do this, an' just me, so by the fur, I'm certainly gonna try an' do that."

"Well, good luck then, mate." Tobias said, giving Mathoni a pat on the back, then he and his sister jointly pushed the boat into the current of the river. "Hope ye get t' this Angola place safely enough!"

"Thanks!" Mathoni said, waving as he paddled away. "Goodbye!"

Tobias and Illia stayed to watch Mathoni sail away before they started back down the path for home.

"Y'know, Mathoni wasn't th' only one gettin' a touch peckish." Tobias said, rubbing at his belly. "Me tum's sayin' it's gettin' hungry too."

"Y'know, if we 'urry, we should get back t' Redwall in time for teatime." Illia suggested.

Tobias grinned, and started running. "Last one back t' the abbey is a rotten egg!" he called.

Illia laughed and raced after her brother. "Ye liddle scamp, get back 'ere!"

* * *

In silence, Bluejay prepared the usual medicine for Lady Grinta. Looking as frail with illness as ever, Grinta lay quietly in bed, watching.

"Thank you for all that you do, Bluejay." Grinta said softly. "It really means a lot to me."

"Your welcome, your ladyship." Bluejay said, removing the spoon from the mixture and pouring it into a goblet. "It is my duty, as healer, though. I am only doing what would have been expected of me."

"Nonetheless, you have been a good help to not only me, but everyone." Grinta said, grinning comfortingly. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "I suppose that's my afternoon medicine, isn't it?"

"Yes, your ladyship."

"Mm. I despise that medicine the most. So bitter."

"It is the herbs, your ladyship." Bluejay said, brining the cup to Grinta and helping place it in her paw. "But it'll help. It always has, and always will. Now please drink it down. All of it, now. Don't leave one drop behind."

Lady Grinta slowly downed the medicine. Once she was done, she peered back into the empty goblet and made a face.

"It tastes bitter." she remarked.

"You already said as such, your ladyship."

"Bitter_er_, I should say."

"Really?" Bluejay said, taking the goblet and peering into it, puzzled. "There's nothing in there that hasn't always been there. I can't figure out why it would taste bitterer other than...your ladyship, are you all right?"

Lady Grinta's breathing had grown more rapid, and more ragged. She tried to reach out with one paw to Bluejay, but didn't have the energy. Her paw simply flopped about weakly. She seemed to not even have enough energy to keep her eyelids open, which she struggled to keep open.

"Your ladyship?" Bluejay repeated again, kneeling down beside the bed, growing alarmed.

"Bluejay," Grinta wheezed, turning almost blindly to the healer. "Tell Kani...I love him."

She then turned away, curled into a ball, let out a long sigh of a breath, and was suddenly and eerily calm. Bluejay grew more worried still.

"Your ladyship?" she asked, rubbing at Grinta to get her attention. "Your ladyship!"

Lady Grinta didn't respond. Bluejay quickly checked the vixen over, before finally sitting back on her haunches in shock. She was silent for a long moment, then cursed viciously, and rose to go find Kani.

* * *

On the fringes of the village of Angola, where village turned to woods, two patrols marched, passing by each other. Each patrol contained two creatures, one a fox, a member of the royal guard, and the other a mouse, a member of the Angolian militia. As they passed, they saluted each other, said hello, and then moved on to continue their patrol.

Neither patrol had gone far from each other, when they both heard a twig snap within the woods. They whirled around and peered through the tangle of trees and shrubs, on the alert, and ready to react if need be. But nothing could be clearly seen within the woods. Finally, after a moment, the patrols began to relax and move away.

Then the mouse in the first party was struck dead, an arrow through his neck, and fell over.

Instantly, the others whirled back around to confront their unseen enemy and prepare to attack. Something could be seen moving somewhere within the woods, but it wasn't clear enough to approach and attack. Another arrow whizzed through the air and struck the fox in the second patrol in the arm. He yelled out in pain and doubled over, which saved him from the next arrow that whizzed over his head.

Quickly, they all sought cover, scooping up anything and everything they could use to throw at their hidden enemy. More shapes could be seen moving in the woods. They looked like mice, telling them it was the rebels that were attacking. They tried to pinpoint the location of each creature to try and fight back, but they couldn't see them clear enough. And even they did, all they had to fight with were short rang weapons like swords and the such; no arrows.

The injured fox took another arrow to his upper chest, and finally went down. His mouse cohort took two arrows to his chest, and then took an arrow to his back before falling down. It was unclear if he was dead, but if he wasn't, he would be soon. That left the one fox from the first patrol. He tried to hold his ground, but upon seeing he was the only one left still capable of fighting, and turned to flee.

It was then that an arrow pierced his leg. Yelling, he toppled over, unable to move. Groaning, he rolled over and looked back into the woods and seeing that one of the mice in the woods move closer. It was then that the fox saw that the mouse wasn't a mouse at all. It was a rat.

But this observation would remain forever untold as with one swift arrow, the fox was silenced forever.


	10. Chapter 9

More bad news for Kani, and the suspicions in each other grow. Blackwing makes an observation. Story's moving right along. :)

Chapter 9

Word of the attack spread like wildfire throughout Angola. There were rumors aplenty, but it seemed no one really knew with complete certainty what had happened, for no one but the two patrols and their attackers, whomever they were, saw the event. By the time a pair of Angolian villagers discovered the bodies of the patrol, the attackers where long gone.

Creatures were sent for. Healers quickly arrived on the scene in case they could some how help. But three of the four creatures in two patrols were already long dead. Miraculously, though, one of the two foxes in the patrols was still alive, but only barely, and in no condition to explain what had happened, having had taken an arrow to his arm and his upper chest.

Members of the Angolian militia then arrived to search for evidence and to stand guard in case the attackers came back. There were so many villagers gathered around, all of them trying to help, though, that another attack didn't seem likely, but it didn't hurt to be safe. Surely enough creatures had been hurt already, anyway.

A messenger was sent up to Midnight Castle to report on the attack, but word had already reached the castle by the time the messenger had arrived. Methusael took command of the situation and gathered the royal guard together and headed on down to the scene of the attack and took over, sending the Angolian villagers and the militia away, so that finally it was only foxes that were present at the scene.

Little good came from it, though. All that was to be learned from the event had already been learned, and any other clues that had been yet to be discovered had already been destroyed. The one surviving fox had been stabilized enough to be moved to the castle where he would receive further care. Along with him and the bodies of the dead, the royal guard returned to the castle glumly, feeling a bit defeated at the moment.

As was said, word had already reached Midnight Castle by this point, but it was for some reason late to reach Kani, and he did not find out about the event until Mordecai, having heard of the attack in passing, arrived in his office to announce it. Both alarmed at the unexpected and unprovoked attack and deeply annoyed at the fact that he was apparently last to know, Kani hurried down to the entry hall, Mordecai following. He arrived in the hall the same time Methusael and the rest of royal guard did.

"Methusael!" Kani roared as he entered. "What happened?"

Looking weary and withdrawn, Methusael slowly approached Kani, his head hung. "Two patrols were attacked." he said glumly. "Of the four creatures present, only one has survived, just barely. Beyond that, I don't know much."

"You clearly knew enough to go out and handle everything _hours _ago." Kani barked. "So why am I only finding out about all of this _now_?"

"It was a very urgent matter, and to be honest, I just didn't think of it." Methusael said. "Besides, you have enough on your plate already, and I didn't want to add to your stress at the moment."

Kani sighed, anger depleting at this. "You're right." he admitted. "And I appreciate the thought, but even though you had good intentions, you should've told me straight away." he shook his head. "It's not like you to keep me out of the loop, anyway."

"Sorry." Methusael said.

"So who attacked?" Kani asked glumly, as he looked past Methusael and watched the royal guard bring in the patrol in question, the three that were dead were covered with cloths, and winced.

"Who do you think?" Methusael asked coldly.

"Methusael, I will not hear of your belief that..."

"I have proof."

He held up an arrow, still bloodied from the battle. He handed it to Kani, who looked it over with a sinking heart.

"It's Angolian." he noted in dismay.

"And there was at least one arrow in all four of those poor beasts." Methusael said, turning to look as creatures came to tend to the remains of the patrol, a swarm of creatures gathering around the one surviving creature to treat him.

Kani was silent for a long moment, gripping the incriminating arrow tightly in his paws. In that moment, Bluejay appeared on the scene, flustered. She paused beside Mordecai, hesitant, then brushed past him. The servant fox gave Bluejay a curious look, puzzled by her apparent look of panic.

"Milord?" Bluejay asked hesitantly as she approached Kani.

Kani didn't acknowledge her presence. He instead turned to Methusael. "Begin an investigation." he ordered. "I want to be absolutely _sure _that the creatures who attacked are who you are thinking of."

"What?" Methusael asked. "Kani, with all due respect, what more evidence do you need?"

"You do realize that just because these creatures were killed with Angolian arrows doesn't mean that it was an Angolian that fired them, correct?" Kani pressed, turning to leave.

"Milord?" Bluejay prompted again, tapping Kani on the shoulder.

"Bluejay, good timing." Kani said addressing her briefly as he passed, "We have a wounded creature over there, and he will need your attention."

He then walked on, Methusael and Mordecai following. Seeing the injured creature, Bluejay almost did stop to treat him, but the urgency of what she needed to tell Kani overruled even her healer instincts and she quickly hurried to try and follow."

"Master Kani." she said as she followed.

"Kani, who else could it have been who attacked?" Methusael asked as Kani led the way back up to the spiral staircase that led to his study. He seemed to be trying to ignore Methusael. "All the evidence points to it, and they are the most likely creatures to..."

"They _are _the most likely creatures." Kani agreed. "Regardless, I want more evidence before we do _anything _in response to this."

"Master Kani..."

"We have _more _than enough evidence!" Methusael pressed. "Kani, we need to fight back before they strike again!"

"You don't _know _they'll strike again." Kani said, stepping into the study and everyone following him. "Furthermore, I do not intend to start a war until it is absolutely _clear _that the rebels had _anything _to do with this."

"Milord..."

"Blood has already been spilled, Kani. Do you really want to put more creatures at risk of more being spilt?"

"I don't want any blood spilt needlessly. We don't even know who the rebels _are_. How can we attack them if we don't even know who they _are_?"

"Milord!"

"I've been thinking about that. If we just work to flush the rebels out by storming Angola..."

"Methusael, I will not even _consider _that at this time. The Angolians are our _followers_. We need to treat them with respect. We already have enough problems with that already, trying to flush out the rebels would only further create a wall between us! Sometimes I think you really _do _want to start a war!"

"Of course not!"

"Then by the fur, Methusael, do as I ask, and just maybe we can avoid it!"

"Lord Kani!" Bluejay exclaimed, saying the one thing she hoped would get Kani's attention.

And it worked. "Bluejay, I'm not the lord _yet._" Kani pressed, exhasperated.

"But that's what I've been trying to tell you, Master Kani." Bluejay said. She paused for a saddened moment. "You are now."

Suddenly, all eyes were on her. Kani paled.

"What?" Kani asked, his voice nothing more but a hurt whisper.

Bluejay hung her head, feeling Kani's sorrow, and trying to blink back tears. She decided she didn't need to say it, but did anyway.

"I am sorry to report that Lady Grinta has..." she paused, "...passed on."

With a shocked thump, Kani dropped himself into his chair at his desk. A long moment of stunned silence followed. Mordecai bowed his head respectfully. Methusael looked positively floored by this announcement, and was seeking the right words to say. No words were coming from his mouth, though. Kani just sat in his chair, eerily motionless. Finally, Methusael found his voice.

"Kani..." he began slowly, "...look, first I want to say..."

"Out."

"What?"

"Everyone out. Now."

"But..."

"Out!"

The three other occupants looked at one another for a moment. Then Mordecai, loyal as always, nodded respectfully, and calmly exited. Following his example, Bluejay followed. Methusael seemed torn for a moment, then hurried after Bluejay and called for her attention, probably to ask for an explanation as to what had happened.

A moment later, all was silent, and Kani was alone in the study.

Kani just continued to sit there and stare at his desktop for a long moment. Then finally, he pounded his fist hard against the desk, and cradled his head in his paws. He was weeping bitterly soon after that.

* * *

"I'm still at a lost at how it happened." Bluejay said innocently as she and Methusael entered Lady Grinta's bedchamber, Grinta's body still laying on the bed, untouched since Bluejay left to go find Kani. "One moment she was doing fine, at least as fine as I've come to expect with her illness, and then she just..." she trailed off, almost not having the nerve to say it, "...died."

Emotionlessly, Methusael knelt down beside the bed and looked her ladyship over. She was indeed, dead.

"There was no reason at all for her death, you say?" Methusael inquired, pulling the covers of the bed over Lady Grinta's body.

"None, Master Methusael." Bluejay said. "Granted, she was still terribly ill, but not on the verge of death."

"And you say her condition just suddenly worsened after you gave her the usual afternoon potion."

"That's right. Her breathing became labored, she told me to give Master Kani word that she loved him, floundered weakly for a moment, then she was gone. I have never seen anything quite like it, not in all of my days as a healer."

"That sounds almost like she was poisoned."

Methusael said it so calmly, sitting back on his haunches and pulling at his whiskers in thought, that for a moment Bluejay thought she had misheard.

"P-poisoned, sir?" she asked hesitantly.

"That's right." Methusael said. He turned to give her an almost suspicious look. "Poisoned."

Bluejay gave him a glare. "Why would I poison her?" she asked. "I have no motive for it!"

"And yet, you were the one who gave her the medicine, and as you _are _such a skilled healer, you could have easily had slipped something into it." Methusael said, standing. "Some herb, perhaps?"

"I didn't kill her!" Bluejay said defensively. "I respected her ladyship as much as any one did! I wanted to see her _live_, by the claw, _LIVE_!"

She slapped her paws helplessly against Methusael's chest in her anger. Methusael took the blows, unmoving, for several moments. Finally, as the vixen began to wear herself out, Methusael gently took her paws by the wrists.

"You do realize that you are still the principle suspect, correct?" he asked calmly.

"I didn't kill her!" Bluejay repeated. "There was nothing in that medicine that shouldn't have been!"

Methusael spied the goblet that had contained said medicine and scooped it up with one paw, examining it for a moment. "We shall see." he said.

And with that, he exited the room, taking the goblet with, leaving Bluejay feeling worse than when Lady Grinta had died in her presence...

* * *

The streak of beautiful spring weather in Mossflower woods had continued, and was showing no signs of stopping. For Blackwing, that was great news, as it meant perfect weather for flying. Swooping through the air, looping and doing other common flying tricks that sparrows knew, Blackwing was out to just enjoy the weather.

Of course, he had really been sent out to gather food for the other sparrows.

But that didn't mean he still couldn't have fun.

He was so preoccupied with his flying, that he very nearly missed what was happening on the ground below him. Leveling off at a low altitude after completing one trick, Blackwing spied an interesting creature walking along the path that cut through the woods calmly. Curious now, he perched silently in a nearby tree to watch further.

The creature didn't notice, or if he or she did, the creature wasn't bothered by it. Whoever or whatever it was, the creature walked calmly down the path on a very neat and straight course. It wore a habit with the hood drawn over it's head. Blackwing found the color curious; it was the same color as the sky, and he had never see a habit of any type colored like that before. The creature also carried a wooden staff with a blue sapphire embedded in it's top tip, glinting in the light. Blackwing was momentarily transfixed with the pretty gem before he moved on to take note of anything else about the creature.

But there wasn't much left to note. His or her habit completely hid most of the creature's body. The only parts Blackwing could see was the creature's paw, the tip of it's snout, and it's tail, but being fairly illiterate with all of the non-flying creatures, it wasn't enough for Blackwing to figure it out. He did note that the creature was heading in the direction of Redwall Abbey, and presumed the creature intended to stop there, as it was the only real structure around for several miles.

Even more curious, Blackwing flew on ahead of the creature and await for it's arrival at the abbey. He also decided there and then that there was something very odd about this creature.

But he wasn't quite sure what.


	11. Chapter 10

A Redwall-centric chapter, which is surprising for me, because it was planned to be an Angola-centric chapter until I realized there was a few things I needed to address at Redwall first. Like Redwall chapters before, it is mostly more character-fleshing stuff (Yeah, I know, you guys are probably starting to get tired of it) but not all of it. A fun moment with Tobias and Illia, naturally, and more is revealed about Skipper Rowe. Aquila, Linus's wife, finally gets a few speaking lines. Oh yeah, and I can't forget the ending...enjoy! :)

Chapter 10

Standing on the walltop above the gates patiently, Malachi and Charles looking up the path that ran past the abbey and through Mossflower Woods, waiting for Tobias and Illia to return from helping Mathoni set off on his journey. They had been waiting all day ever since the threesome had left this morning, the excitement of seeing Mathoni off on his quest still having worn off just yet. It was just about to, though, both Malachi and Charles being bored enough to begin considering doing something else, when Malachi finally spied them.

"There they are." he announced, his ears perking up in anticipation.

Racing each other down the path, Tobias was currently leading the way up to the abbey, laughing playfully. Illia was only less than half a pace behind him, though.

"I'm gonna bet ye there, mate!" Tobias exclaimed.

"Oh, we'll see 'bout that!" Illia said, putting on an extra burst of speed.

As she started to pass Tobias, she lashed out with her thick otter tail at her brother, making him stumble and fall a pace or two behind, permitting Illia to take the lead. Tobias didn't stay behind for long though, quickly catching up with his twin sister as the rounded around the corner and surged into the gates that Malachi and Charles had quickly gone and opened. In the end, the race ended in a tie, Tobias and Illia tripping on each others footpaws and crossing the alleged "finish line" to their race in a tangled heap.

Laughing, they disentangled themselves from each other and stood back up.

"Good race, brother dear." Illia said, taking Tobias's paw to shake.

"Very much so, mate." Tobias replied, grinning and returning the shake. "Gave me a real challenge, there, so ye did."

Malachi then politely cleared his throat. "Sorry if I'm interruptin' this...um...wotever this is about...but uh, just wanted t' ask if Mathoni got on his way all right." he said.

"Oh bless yore 'eart Malachi, 'course he did." Tobias said, ruffling Malachi's ears. "Reckon he's 'bout a mile upstream by now."

"How long do you think he'll be away?" the young hare asked next.

"Mathoni?" Tobias asked, then shrugged. "Dunno, mate. Could be anywhere from days t' weeks. All depends on 'ow long it takes for him t' go to an' from an' 'ow long he stays there."

"Why do ye ask, Malachi?" Illia asked as they jointly closed the gates and made their way across the abbey grounds.

"Just curious." Malachi said. "Really, it's kind of excitin', eh wot? Knowin' that Mathoni's out there havin' an adventure. Bet he'll come back with a real tale t' tell."

Tobias laughed. "Well, I dunno about that, mate." he said. "I'm willin' t' bet nothin' much excitin' will 'appen on this liddle assignment of Mathoni's. Tis not like he'll come back with a whole whopper of a legend t' tell."

"It's still excitin', though." Malachi said. He nudged Charles who was silently walking along beside him. "Isn't it, Charles? Don't you want t' be out there with him, gettin' out in the world and just havin' a jolly good adventure?"

Charles averted making eye contact, and shrugged indifferently.

"Of course, there are plenty o' good reason t' stay 'ere at Redwall, though." Illia pointed out. "Like the food. Is it teatime yet?"

"Not yet." Malachi said with a sigh. "Which reminds me of the very reason why I'm here and not out doing the same as Mathoni."

"Th' fact that Skipper Rowe asked Mathoni specifically t' go an' no one else?" Illia inquired.

"No." Malachi said.

It was then a loud voice boomed out from the entrance into the main building of the abbey.

"Malachi!" Friar Machaerus called out from where he stood, adjusting his chef's hat. "C'mon down t' the kitchens, son, I need your help making some biscuits for th' afternoon tea! Briskly, now, wot-wot?"

Malachi sighed again. "It's the fact that I have duties I have to do here." he muttered to the otter twins then started walking off, taking Charles paw and dragging the mouse with him. "C'mon Charles, I'll need you t' doing the cookin' for those biscuits. Knowin' me, I'm more likely t' just burn 'em."

* * *

Some time later, Rowe walked along on the ramparts on the walls, looking out at the horizon, watching the sun sink lower towards it, although it still had some distance cover before it reached sunset and time for dinner. He was thinking about Mathoni, hoping the youth was getting along okay, and praying that no harm would befall him during his journey. He also hoped that he and Abbot Isaiah didn't make a mistake sending him out like that.

Coming to stop to lean on the walltop, he sighed. "Keep safe, Mathoni." he said to himself. "Wouldn't forgive meself if somethin' 'appened t' ye while ye were on this journey."

"Now, that's not staying very optimistic."

Rowe turned and saw Linus and his wife, Aquila, coming towards him. The two squirrels appeared to be out for an evening stroll.

"Linus." Rowe said, straightening. "Ye caught me by surprise there, didn't 'ear ye comin'." he looked around. "Where's Alexander?"

"He's playing with friends in Great Hall." Linus said. "Sister Mint's watching over them, and you know what's she like with that duty. Anyway, Aquila and I thought it would be a good chance to take a quick stroll, just to ourselves. Being parents and all, we don't get much time like that anymore."

Rowe laughed. "Guess there is some downsides t' bein' a parent." he said. "I probably wouldn't be cut out for it."

"Now, I wouldn't say that, Rowe." Aquila said. "I think you'd make a very good father, and you'd probably benefit from having a family."

Rowe shook his head, leaning on the parapet. "No, I wouldn't." he said. "You two didn't know me family 'afore I came 'ere. Broken and disordered bunch, they were. Most of 'em wouldn't talk t' the other 'alf because of some silly family feud. Me mother died when I wasn't much younger than yore own son, Linus, an' me father was never th' same afterwards. Spent most of his time t' 'imself, an' probably wasn't th' greatest of fathers. Was a good warrior, though, but even that 'ad t' come t' an end, gettin' 'imself killed in a bloody battle with vermin." he shook his head. "I wouldn't know th' first thing about startin', much less maintainin', a family, so I decided a long time ago t' just not t' bother."

"Is that why you never married?" Linus said, leaning on the parapet beside Rowe. "You thought you wouldn't be able to maintain your side of the marriage?"

"Didn't exactly grow up in the greatest of conditions t' learn, mate." Rowe said with a shrug. "'Sides, I didn't lie when I said that I never found th' right girl. I mean, sure, I met some very nice maidens over th' seasons, but..." he shrugged. "Point is that I'm just fine on me own, mates."

"But are you really?" Aquila asked, joining them by leaning on the parapet herself. "Sorry if I seem intruding, Skip, but you do seem lonely sometimes. I mean, sure, you have all of us here at Redwall as your friends, and your fellow tribe of otters that you lead, but beyond that..." she shrugged.

"And then there's Mathoni." Linus said. "I personally think you care more for the lad than you're willing to admit."

Rowe smiled. "Ye got me there, mate, tis true." he admitted. "Don't ever tell 'im this, but I see a lot of meself in Mathoni. He's ambitious, thoughtful, an' has more than enough will t' be a warrior. I just worry he's 'ad a too sheltered life 'ere at Redwall, an' couldn't handle it because of it."

"Is that why you sent him on this little journey?" Aquila asked.

"Well, it was Father Abbot's idea, not mine." Rowe quickly said. "But aye, I immediately supported the idea, even if just for my benefit in seein' for meself if young Mathoni could handle it."

They were silent for a moment.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I think Mathoni can more than handle it." Aquila spoke finally. She nudged her husband who was the closer of the two. "All Mathoni needs is some support and trust in him. I've given him mine. You two should, too."

Linus and Rowe glanced at each other.

"Well, I've never been one t' argue with a pretty maiden, mate." Rowe said with a grin.

"Now you be careful, Skip, she's my wife." Linus scolded playfully.

They laughed, and began some light conversation. While they did, a bird flew by over head and perched itself on one of the abbey's towers, chattering loudly.

Aquila glanced in it's direction. "Is that a sparrow?" she asked.

"Sounds like it's agitated about something." Linus said, shrugging. "I dunno, I don't speak Sparra. I've heard it is a very difficult language to understand, much less repeat. In fact, according to our record books, there only have been a handful of reported creatures who were fluent in the language, including..."

"Now, who's that?" Rowe suddenly interrupted, squinting his eyes down at the path outside the abbey walls.

They all turned to look at the creature calmly heading up the path towards the abbey. It's path indicated that it was heading for the gates.

"Ahoy there, matey!" the Skipper of Otters hailed to the creature, waving a paw. "Where ye be off t'?"

The figure, dressed in his sky blue habit, paused and turned to look at the three creatures on the walltops, planting the end of his staff into the ground.

"Greetings, creatures." he spoke. "I have come from afar to your abbey to bring you a message. I wish to speak with your leader. May I be permitted to enter?" he pointed with one claw over at the gates.

Rowe pulled at his whiskers for a moment in thought, his eyes scanning the creature from head to toe.

"He looks innocent enough." Linus offered, trying to be helpful.

"Looks can be deceiving, mate." Rowe pointed out, but he couldn't find any faults with the creature either. He finally shrugged, standing straight and smoothing the wrinkles out of his tunic. "Alright, guess there's no reason we can't let 'im in." he said, heading for the staircase leading down to the grounds. "Aquila, could I please implore ye t' go an' fetch Abbot Isaiah so these two can speak? Me an' Linus 'ere will let 'im in."

Aquila nodded, and quickly hurried off into the abbey to carry out the task. Working together to unbar the gates, Linus and Rowe then pulled open the heavy wooden doors to allow the mysterious creature to enter. It was then that they got their first good look at this creature.

The hood to his habit was still pulled over his head, but his face could still be seen and identified as a mouse. He wore a cool and emotionless expression. There was a tattoo on his right cheek, depicting a symbol neither Linus and Rowe had seen before. Another, smaller symbol sat on his brow, and was also unidentifiable. Once the gates were open, the mouse strolled in calmly and silently, the staff topped with a beautiful sapphire he held in his paw used idly like a walking stick.

"Welcome to Redwall." Linus greeted, nodding at the creature.

The mouse glanced at Linus, but otherwise did not respond, and strolled right on past him and Rowe and on down the path towards the main building of the abbey. The recorder squirrel and the Skipper of Otters gave each other puzzled and slightly apprehensive looks as they closed the gates again.

Abbeydwellers quickly began to gather to watch the peculiar creature, murmuring to themselves quietly. A couple of the youth pointed at their claws at the odd creature before their elders stopped them with shushed scolds. Like he dealt with this everyday, though, the mouse ignored it all, and continued steadily down the path leading into the abbey. He didn't step inside though, for Aquila returned with the abbot in tow before he got that far, and met the creature on the steps.

Abbot Isaiah looked the creature over, and narrowed his eyes slightly, getting a feeling of unease in his stomach. He seemed to ignore it in the end, though, shaking his aging head to clear his thoughts before addressing the creature.

"Hello, and welcome to Redwall Abbey, dear traveler." he said. "Is there something we could perhaps be of service to you?"

The mouse slowly and methodically lowered his hood before answering.

"Thank you for your kind reply, Father Abbot." he replied calmly. "I will not require anything, however, save your ears for listening to what I wish to tell you."

Isaiah gave the creature a suspicious look, to the surprise of some of the onlookers. "Which is?" he prompted.

"That everything you believe in is a lie."


	12. Chapter 11

Another chapter regarding Redwall. More about the mysterious mouse is revealed, which is both bad and good-wait...actually just bad. :p Now, for some on-the-side fun. There's a statement a character makes in this chapter that is a quote from one of my past Redwall fanfics. If any of you can accurately name the quote and who originally said it, I'll let you in on a little secret about upcoming portions of this fanfic. Nothing major, of course, (so no, I won't tell you something like the ever-pressing question of who killed Hax and the such) just minor little triva I think you may find entertaining. Every secret I reveal to a reader will be different, no two will be alike (at least that's the hope, I'm praying I won't run out of secrets :p). Also, any and all secrets I tell you must be kept between me and you. No sharing with others, got that? ;) Now, enjoy the chapter. :)

Chapter 11

The announcement caused quite a stir with the Redwallers. It was so blunt, bold, and daring. The mysterious mouse must have quite some nerve to have made his announcement so flatly, and to the abbot, no less. It was also very vague. What beliefs was he referring to? Did he mean all of them, or just some of them? If just some of them, then which ones? Were they really lies? If so, why? And why was he the first to tell them?

Everyone had all of these questions and many more, and all began asking them at once, verbally prodding the mouse for more information. But the calm creature refused to say anything more, except in peace, privacy, and in the company of the leaders of Redwall, meaning the abbot and the council. Abbot Isaiah saw that the creature wouldn't budge on the matter, and agreed to the terms. He asked everyone else to return to their duties, and for the council to gather for an emergency meeting. In the meantime, he requested that their guest be taken to Cavern Hole and be given something to eat.

This was where the mouse was now. He sat calmly at one of the wooden tables that filled the chamber, still fully robed, and still holding his magnificently carved staff that he gripped to one side of him. Silently and expressionless, he surveyed his surroundings briefly, then sat there, generally looking straight ahead, doing nothing.

Illia arrived with a bowl of reheated watershrimp and hotroot soup from the previous night, the best Friar Machaerus could produce at such short notice for the moment. Forcing a grin at the visiting mouse, she placed the dish in front of the creature.

"There ye go, mate, get that down yore gullet." she said cheerfully.

The creature glanced down at the dish briefly, then back up at Illia.

"I am not hungry." he stated flatly.

"Ye sure, mate?" Illia asked, taking a spoon and dunking it into the soup, bringing it up to her nose to sniff. "Smells real good. Ye'll like this dish, I promise."

"I am not hungry." the creature repeated. "It is a otter dish anyway."

"A very good otter dish, too."

"I am not an otter."

"That doesn't matter mate, anybeast can eat this dish. Tis good."

"I am not hungry."

Illia gave the creature a long and bemused look. "Y'know, ye're a cold-blooded creature if ye don't eat that dish." she said pointedly.

"I am not hungry." the creature repeated, looking a touch agitated now.

Illia looked ready to press the matter further, but Abbot Isaiah, who had arrived with the rest of the council during this exchange and had taken seats around the table, motioned for her to be silent.

"That's enough, thank you Illia." he said calmly, motioning to the otter to have a seat with her brother. "We have provided him with food and shelter as promised. It is now up to him if he wishes to accept them." he turned to look the creature head on. "I am curious, though." he continued. "Curious as to what you meant by your cryptic statement earlier."

"There is nothing cryptic about it except to those who have been misled." the creature replied simply.

Everyone glanced at each other for a moment.

"Are you implying that we are misled?" Linus asked hotly.

"Yes." the mouse replied.

Friar Machaerus, who had joined them for the meeting, snorted. "I find that hard to believe." he said.

"We'll discuss this matter further in a moment." Isaiah said. "First off, I wish to ask if you have a name, traveler. It seems rather unkind to always have to be referring to you as simply the mouse or creature."

The mouse tilted his head. "I am a member of the Quorum of Teachers." he said, which didn't mean much to the Redwallers. "Therefore, you may call me the teacher."

"Very well." Isaiah said with a nod. "Now, about your statement that everything we believe in is a lie." he shook his head. "That is a very bold claim coming from a creature who knows little about our ways here at..."

"I am aware of the wickedness that goes on within this abbey." the teacher interrupted.

Tobias, who had been in the middle of sipping a drink, gagged on it suddenly. "'Cuse me, mate?" he asked, coughing. "Wot wickedness?"

"You will not see it as wickedness at present." the mouse said. "You have all been led too far astray."

"You keep saying that we've been led astray." Sister Mint stated. "But you haven't said a thing yet as to what we've done to be led 'astray' and what it is that we've 'strayed' from."

"Your manner of beliefs are wicked and false." the mouse said.

"Can you...explain...what you mean?" Isaiah asked, looking frustrated.

The teacher made no motion to respond right away. Then he motioned with his staff back at the door that led into Great Hall. "I noticed the tapestry you have hung in your hall." he said. "Explain to me what it purpose is."

The council exchanged glances again. It was Rowe who replied.

"Th' tapestry is depicts a running history of Redwall." the Skipper of Otters explained. "As events occur, we add it to th' tapestry, so it chronologizes our history."

"But that is not all." the teacher said. "You depict other things besides history. Such as what you depict at the beginning of the tapestry."

At first, the Redwallers weren't exactly sure what he meant by that. Then Linus paled as he made the connection.

"Surely you don't mean Martin?" he asked.

"Martin?" Machaerus asked. "Martin the Warrior? Wot's wrong with that blighter?"

"You are believing in a false being." the mouse said simply.

"Wot do ye mean, false?" Illia asked. "Martin lived! He founded this abbey!"

"I do not question the fact that he once lived." the teacher said.

"Then wot is it?" Tobias demanded. "Martin is the very spirit of Redwall! His spirit guides th' creatures in this buildin' to their destinies! He sends words o' advice t' those that need it! Sink me rudder mate, we wouldn't even still exist if Martin 'adn't done all of that!"

The mouse gazed at Tobias emotionlessly. "That is a lie."

"_That's not true!_" Sister Mint exploded, rising from her chair. "You take that back before I stuff that tail of yours _down your throat!_"

Normally, the sister would be told off for speaking such language, but tonight everyone was inclined to agree, following her example and all rising from their seats, talking at once, all trying to reason why the four simple words the teacher had stated were false. The teacher sat and watched calmly, almost looking bored, while the council raged on. Finally, the abbot motioned for silence, a glare of anger shining in his eyes as he stared at the mouse.

"What gives you the right," Isaiah began, clearly struggling to keep his temper in check, "to say such things? How do you know any more than we do that what we believe is false?"

"Because it is." the mouse said. "There is no spirit of Martin. Nor does he guide the creatures in this abbey. There is no Dark Forest in which his spirit and the spirit of others exist. You have, as I said, been led astray."

Tobias moved as if to attack the mouse. Illia quickly stopped him, shaking her head no, silently telling him to control his anger. Linus stared at the mouse coldly, and pointed a claw at him.

"I have proof." the recorder squirrel stated. "Proof that proves you wrong. I could list off half a _dozen_ instances recorded in our records where what you say is proven wrong, with hundreds more easily accessible. I could name visions, instances, riddles..."

"It is all a mere illusion created by the truly wicked." the mouse interrupted.

"So ye're sayin' that a creature such as..." Tobias exclaimed, pausing to draw a relevant name he knew of at random, "....Matthias...was a wicked creature?"

The teacher did not deny it. "Yes."

"Then how can you explain it?" Sister Mint asked. "How can you explain the fact that Redwall Abbey would've been wiped from existence on many occasions if it wasn't for the spirit of Martin?"

"Because Gemini had mercy upon all of you, seeing you could still be saved." the teacher replied.

"Wot, or who, is Gemini?" Machaerus asked, scowling.

"The creator of the land, stars, and sky, leader of all creatures upon this land, and savior of all who are righteous." the teacher stated, as if he had the line memorized since youth.

There was a moment of silence.

"That sounds like a god." Linus remarked, looking puzzled.

"A god?" Tobias repeated.

"Mythical beings that I had always associated only crazy beasts believed to have existed." Linus explained giving the teacher a deathly glare. "There aren't many recorded instances in Redwall's history where such an instance is mentioned, but they're there nonetheless. A handful of vermin have believed in such a things, being as superstitious as they are, but even they didn't go to this kind of extreme."

"It is true." the teacher persisted. "Gemini is more than mere superstition. And he will bless all who follow him." he paused for a moment. "And curse all who turn away. It is my duty to teach you of the teachings of Gemini, and guide back to the path of righteousness. My only request is that you allow me to do this. To go among your numbers and to be permitted to teach. Is that permissible?"

They were all silent for a moment. Then, Rowe, have been quiet for a long moment, spoke.

"I say we throw 'im out of th' abbey." he snarled.

"Seconded." Tobias immediately added.

"Concurred." Linus agreed.

"Now let's not get too feisty here." Isaiah interrupted before the rest of the council could voice their support with Rowe's idea. "Let us not forget that we are Redwallers, and what we are thereby required to do." he looked at the mouse, as silent and expressionless as always. "Granted, what this creature speaks is...troubling...to us. But it his opinion, and he is entitled to it, as is he entitled to the right to speak it. He has done no harm to us, nor does he seem to wish to. He came here willingly and with a...general...attitude to preserve the peace. It is only fair that we permit him food, shelter, and whatever else he might need during his stay here. Meanwhile, he is free to...teach...as he wishes. I will leave it up to the creatures of this abbey to decide for themselves what they want to believe." he glanced around at the council that were all still looking venomously at the teacher. Isaiah wanted to do the same, but he also wanted to set the example. "I will also want all of you to treat this creature with the same respect you would treat any other creature, is that understood?"

He waited for a response. There were a few murmurings in acknowledgment.

"I said, is that clear?" Isaiah asked, adjusting his spectacles.

"Yes, Father Abbot." the council jointly murmured.

"Thank you." Isaiah said, and turned to Illia. "Would you please escort the teacher to a spare dormitory where he can stay the night?"

Illia grudgingly nodded, rose, and motioned to the mouse to follow her. Silently, the mouse rose, and obeyed. Seeing the meeting was over, the rest of the council turned to go about their way as well. Isaiah watched as they did, and was dismayed at what he saw. Linus was avoiding eye contact. Most of the council, however, was going out of their way to make sure they _didn't _make any eye contact with the abbot at all, clearly not happy with the ruling. Machaerus was the only exception to this, as he glared long and hard at the abbot before he turned and angrily stalked back off to his kitchens, adjusting his chef's hat on the way. Soon, it was only Isaiah left, standing, in the room.

With a sigh, the ancient mouse sank back into his chair, his old knees having started protesting about him having stood for so long. The room was empty and silent for a long moment. Then, suddenly, it wasn't, as a ever familiar creature appeared beside the abbot's chair.

Martin followed Isaiah's straight-ahead gaze, even though it wasn't focused on anything. "You'll regret this." he said. There was nothing menacing or upset about his tone, nor was there any sadness or disappointment. It was a mere statement of fact.

Isaiah was forced to agree, and he nodded. "I think I already do, Martin." he admitted.


	13. Chapter 12

And back to Angola. Nothing special I feel like saying, but I like how this chapter came out, so I'll say that much. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

"Kani..."

Kani shivered at the chill that pierced his flesh, and searched for the origin of the mysterious voice. It was difficult to pinpoint, as it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

"Kani..."

What was irritating was the fact that he felt like he should know this voice and exactly who it belonged to already, yet no matter how much he tried to think about it, he couldn't seem to the make the connection. Worse still, his mind wouldn't focus on the voice at the moment, turning it's attention to the mass of shadowy shapes swirling around him, instead.

"Kani..."

"What?" Kani heard himself say without thinking. "What do you want?"

There was a long pause in which silence fell, very nearly unnerving Kani. One of the shadowy shapes began to come into focus, like it was stepping towards him, but it still wasn't enough for Kani to identify who or what it was. Finally, the voice gave it's reply.

"There is danger, Kani..."

A sudden thump rang out. Kani awoke with a start and tumbled out of bed in the process, landing hard on his tail. Biting back a yelp of pain, he proceeded to disentangle himself from his bedsheets and rose to determine where the thump he heard had come from. It didn't take him long to find out.

His bedchamber door was hanging open. That, in of itself, seemed to explain nearly everything, for Kani always kept his bedchamber door closed while he was sleeping. Someone must have opened it recently, and it doing so, accidently allowed it to bump against the wall as it swung open, creating the sound that had awoken him.

It seemed innocent enough, but Kani quickly realized that still left a few things unexplained. Such as who opened the door and why? Kani's first thought was that it was Mordecai who opened it, probably having some perfectly logical reason for doing so, seeing that the servant fox wouldn't do it for anything less. But then Kani remembered in had been in the middle of a dream at the moment, and not a very peaceful one at that. If it _had _been Mordecai, he would've stayed and helped Kani wake up and calm himself back down.

Yet whomever opened the door had apparently left just as quickly as he or she had arrived.

Then Kani got an even worse thought. He was in the middle of a dream when this presumably happened, a dream only he and Mordecai knew he had been having lately.

Did this mean there was now someone else who knew that Kani was having odd dreams in the middle of the night?

And if so, what did they think about it? Kani wasn't sure.

But he did know one thing. It wasn't likely to be good...

* * *

It wasn't long after that, though, that the shock of yesterday's events hit the young lord again in full force, and everything about the dream and the supposed creature who mysteriously open his bedchamber door was driven from his mind. Fighting back another fit of tears, Kani rose to prepare himself for that day's events.

At dawn, Lady Grinta's body was laid to rest.

The funeral proceedings went well enough; brightened somewhat in the early morning light of the rising sun peaking over the horizon. Kani was thankful for this much, as the cheery sunlight allowed him to keep a straight face. If had it been raining, like Kani had been fearing it would be, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep himself together.

But he managed anyway, and the funeral proceeded along smoothly, in general stunned silence from him and all of the onlookers who had gathered to watch. Lady Grinta's sudden and unexpected death had been a blow to everyone, even with the fact that she had already been so ill, and that the idea of her dying having been acknowledged as being very real for so long now. But regardless of what they all thought, it happened anyway, and now they were just going to have to live with it.

As Lady Grinta's body, wrapped in a plain white cloth, was lowered into it's grave, Kani couldn't help but look around at the faces of the creatures who had come to watch. There weren't too terribly many, but part of this was due to the fact of the recent battle in Angola. Most of the creatures in Midnight Castle were making sure their guard wasn't let down in case another attack occurred, and several creatures were still investigating the site of the battle for any clues or explanations as to why the event even occurred. Regardless, though, some still managed to be here.

Methusael was among them, directing the proceedings at Kani's request, as Kani wasn't confident he could do it himself. He currently stood at the head of the grave, looking down into it with a hung head and a crestfallen spirit. Other than that, though, he looked fine. No doubt the fox's true feelings where hiding behind the constant wall his military training had built over the years. Kani usually had mixed feelings about this metaphorical "wall", but today he was glad Methusael had such a thing to hide his emotions behind, and wished he had something similar as well.

Standing beside Kani was Adah. She was standing here beside Kani at her insistence, in case Kani needed the support, but instead it looked more like the other way around, as she looked unhealthily pale at the moment. She also seemed dazed, like the reality of all of this hadn't quite sunk in entirely at the moment, like she was thinking deep down that when she would wake up the next morning, they would all find Lady Grinta back in her bed, alive like she always had been before, and life would move on like always.

Kani wished this were true.

On his other side was Mordecai, his expression as neutral as always, but even the servant fox seemed stunned by recent events. Indeed, it seemed like things had gotten so bad that they couldn't possibly get worse, but Kani somehow knew that wasn't true either. In fact, he feared things were only going to get worse still before they got better.

Lady Grinta was buried beside the grave of her youngest son. It seemed fitting. Now she and Hax could be together again.

* * *

Immediately after the funeral proceedings, everyone regrouped to the throne room where Kani was to be officially crowned lord of Midnight Castle and it's surrounding lands. It was a simple procedure. All Kani had to do was sit in the throne in his best dress and allow another creature to place the crown upon his brow.

The creature who did this could be anyone the creature being crowned could choose, and even though it was usually the beast second in command at the castle who did this, Kani asked if Mordecai would have the honors of carrying out the procedure. Methusael said later that he understood Kani's reasons for selecting Mordecai over him, and respected that choice, but even then, he still seemed a touch put out by it.

The proceedings were carried out without any problems.

The next chance Kani had, though, he removed the crown and returned it to it's box for safe keeping. As it was a merely an ornament used to establish authority and was typical saved for special occasions, Kani wasn't required to be perpetually wearing it. He was glad for this, because he felt not only silly wearing the crown, but unworthy as well.

After the ceremony, a late breakfast was held in the dining hall in Kani's honor. Usually such an event was cheerful and celebrating, filled with happy creatures talking excitedly about life in general, but today the dining hall was eerily silent and depressed. Creatures quietly and slowly ate their meals in peace, but it seemed almost forced, like they were all little children who had been instructed by their parents to eat the meal or else.

An extra special meal had been prepared for Kani alone to enjoy, and he tried valiantly to do so, but his stomach was churning too much, despite being empty, and he feared he wouldn't be able to keep the meal down, so he apologetically turned it down and excused himself early under the false pretense of having important matters to attend to. He planned to change back into his usual attire and retire to his office to find something to do there, but only got as far as changing back into his usual attire, and ended up returning to the dining hall anyway to watch the meal continue in it's depressed state from afar.

The dining hall, you see, was very uniquely made. The tables and chairs all sat upon a large circular tile floor, the tiles forming the royal crest. The hall itself was a cylindrical tower that rose up for three, very nearly four, floors where it stopped to form a large circular skylight in it's ceiling made from transparent crystal. Along one side of the room was another narrow strip of a window, also made with transparent glass, that very nearly stretched from top to bottom of the hall. It looked out towards the village of Angola, sitting in the valley. Directly below this window was a pair of doors that led directly outside. They were usually kept closed and locked except for special occasions, though.

On the dining hall's other side were three balconies, one for each of the three floors the dining hall rose up to. Overlooking the dining tables below, each balcony stretched off on both sides to connect to other parts of Midnight Castle, and were actively used for a number of things. Kani currently stood on the second balcony, the one in the middle, looking back down at the meal still underway below. He stood there alone for a long while, but finally at one point Kani realized that had changed.

Methusael had joined him on the balcony.

At first the fox merely leaned on the balcony's railing like Kani, looking at the meal below, looking deep in thought, no doubt trying to figure out how he wanted to say whatever it was he wanted to say. Kani remained silent, allowing Methusael to have the time he needed to say it. He knew he was probably going to find out about the matter sooner or later if he didn't, anyway.

Finally, Methusael found his voice. "Milord, I know this isn't probably the best time to bring this up," he said, "but there is something I need to tell you."

"If it concerns Angola, I'm not in the mood." Kani mumbled dejectedly. Actually, he wasn't in the mood for much of anything, but Angola was bottommost on his list at the moment.

"Well good, because it's something else I wish to tell you Kani." Methusael said, to Kani's surprise. He paused for a moment, and sighed. "It's Bluejay." he finally admitted. "I have reason to believe she's plotting against you."

Kani whirled around to gape bewilderedly at his second in command. "_Bluejay_?" he repeated. "Our best healer? In the name of the seasons, Methusael, whatever gave you _that _idea?"

"I have evidence." Methusael replied calmly.

"Hang the evidence!" Kani snapped. "Bluejay is a very trustworthy creature! We've all entrusted her our very lives at least _once _before! She comes from a very long line of respectable healers, like Ananias, Sapphira, and Jaydee, half of which all served loyally here at Midnight Castle for untold _generations_! If there is blame anywhere to pin on any beast, it certainly isn't Bluejay!"

Then Methusael stated the clincher of the matter. "What if I told you Lady Grinta was poisoned?" he asked calmly.

Kani's eyes went wide, and he suddenly felt like he might faint. He leaned heavily against the balcony's railing for support. Methusael moved forward to help support him, but Kani shooed him aside with one paw.

"P-poisoned?" Kani repeated softly after a moment, breathing heavily and feeling nauseous, at risk of vomiting what little he ate for breakfast. "Are you sure?"

"I had the goblet her ladyship last partook of just before she died examined by a group of creatures that excel in this kind of thing, and they confirmed it." Methusael said, looking apologetic. "Even then, I made them double-check, but there can be no doubting it, Kani. The inside of the goblet was _lined _with very deadly poison. More than enough to kill a single creature."

Kani sank to his knees, not confident he could keep standing any more. "What was in the goblet?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Medicine, suppositively." Methusael replied. "Prepared by Bluejay herself, she even admitted as such."

Kani made groan.

"I took the liberty of examining the supply of herbs Bluejay kept in Lady Grinta's bedchamber at all times, as well." Methusael continued. "One of the herbs that usually goes into the medicine in question had been replaced with one identical in appearance that is quite deadly if ingested. Only someone with a trained eye could've see the difference. As I see it, Bluejay made the medicine like she normally would've, but used this new herb instead."

A long moment of silence fell, Kani still sitting on the floor weakly, gripping the balcony railing loosely with both paws and breathing heavily still, his stomach still churning terribly, worse than before.

"Your orders, lord?" Methusael asked softly after a moment, his expression overall flat, but his eyes glinting with apology.

Kani didn't reply right away. He took big gulps of breath for a few moments, trying to calm himself, then he pulled himself to his feet, standing wobbly. Methusael again moved to support him, and this time Kani accepted the help long enough to stabilize himself before he pushed his second in command away.

"Find her." he croaked finally. "Find her and bring her to the throne room, under guard. I want to get to the bottom of this."


	14. Chapter 13

Bluejay has a close shave, Kani breaks down further, and Moroni's angry. The answers still not found. A new twist is likely to come to the story starting next chapter as we start getting into the real meat of the fanfic. :D

Chapter 13

Methusael to waste any time carrying out Kani's orders. Before the hour was over, Bluejay had been found, placed under guard, and taken straight to the throne room where Kani sat wearily in the throne, not trusting himself to stand. He wasn't alone, either. Mordecai was present, trying to do his best to keep his lordship calm, a task that was proving futile. Adah was also there, mostly out of curiosity. She looked to be trying to help Mordecai help Kani as well, but was really just taking up space. Kani allowed her to stay regardless. There was also a bunch of creatures who had tagged along with the armed guard that had apprehended Bluejay, wondering what this was all about, and now intended to stay long enough to find out.

Not struggling in the slightest, Bluejay was brought before Kani. She seemed puzzled, like she wasn't entirely sure what this was about, but at the same time looked like she had a sneaking suspicion as to what it was. She kept shooting Methusael dark looks, but they were ignored. Once she was before Kani, there was a moment of silence as everyone stood watching the healer vixen, while she watched them. Finally, she faced Kani, and politely curtsied.

"What is it, your lordship?" she asked almost sweetly. She was trying to act cheerful, hoping it would help her situation.

Kani, however, looked angry, and he knew it. He wasn't angry at anything in particular yet; he was just angry. That, and feeling very ill. He still hadn't quite recovered from the blow of Methusael's announcement had dealt. Pushing Mordecai aside, he leaned forward and looked at Bluejay for a long moment.

"Methusael," Kani finally spoke, while keeping his eyes locked with Bluejay's, "State the charges."

Methusael stepped forward, drawing Bluejay's attention away from Kani, and spoke. "Bluejay, chief healer of Midnight Castle, you are hereby charged with charges of conspiracy, plotting against his lordship and the royal family of Fennix, and for the murder of Lady Grinta Fennix." he announced in a loud voice for all to hear. "How do you plea?"

But before he had even finished speaking, Bluejay was objecting, and several of the onlookers began murmuring amongst themselves, unsure what to think now. A couple gave cries of surprise.

"Not guilty!" Bluejay exclaimed instantly. "I would never...surely you don't think that I...Lord Kani, please, be reasonable, and see that I didn't do any of that!" she looked at the newly appointed lord for a long moment. "You...you don't really believe all of that, do you?"

"Right now, Bluejay, I don't know _what _to think." Kani said bitterly. "Just that my mother is dead, and somebeast is responsible! And by the _fur_, I want to know who!"

"I don't know!" Bluejay cried.

"Somebody here does!" Kani pointed out. "And right now, you seem like the most likely creature behind it all, Bluejay. But I don't care who it is, just so long as justice is served! Somebeast murdered my mother, just like somebeast murdered my brother!" he froze for a moment, a new complication coming to mind. "By the claw, you did kill Hax too?"

"No!" Bluejay exclaimed, starting to panic. "I'm not guilty!"

"That's what they all say." Methusael stated.

"Methusael, shush, let her speak." Kani scolded quickly, then turned back to the healer vixen standing before him. "If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

"How should I know?" Bluejay asked. "With all due respect your lordship, I probably know less about the whole matter than you do! I don't _know _what happened or how her ladyship was poisoned, but I had no part in it! All I did was what I had always been doing, preparing harmless medicine and administering it to my patient!"

"Methusael reports that the poison was in the medicine itself, Bluejay." Kani said flatly. "It was prepared by replacing one herb usually used in the medicine with another, identical one that is deadly. The stores of the herb you kept in Lady Grinta's bedchamber had been completely replaced with this new, poisonous herb."

It was then that Bluejay turned deathly pale and collapsed to her knees. Adah, acting concerned, moved to help her, but Methusael stopped her quickly.

"What?" Bluejay repeated weakly, then her eyes glazed over in stunned shock. "I...I...I gave her poisoned medicine." she shook her head. "Master Kani, it wasn't me! I...I...how...I..." she trailed off, shrugging weakly, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't have anything else to say.

It was right about then that Kani realized that something definitely did not add up about this. Bluejay's reaction to all of this seemed much too genuine for her to be lying. But at the same time, Kani couldn't ignore the evidence.

Methusael, on the other paw, seemed unconvinced. "A likely story." he said, looking like he had already condemned the healer to her fate. "You can't even bring enough evidence to prove that you aren't guilty."

"Methusael, be quiet please, and let me think." Kani said softly, rubbing at his brow to soothe the ache that had suddenly appeared.

Methusael either didn't hear, or didn't listen, for he continued, directing his attention to Bluejay. "The odds are very much against you, Bluejay, you might as well confess. You are too skilled at your work at a healer to prove yourself not guilty, you could've easily poisoned her ladyship, and clearly, you expected some kind of profit from it too. How long have you been plotting against her?"

"Methusael..." Kani urged again, a little harder this time.

This time it was Bluejay who continued the argument, who wasn't going to let Methusael insult her and get away with it. "I didn't do it." she spat, glaring at the fox accusing her of treason. "You can't _truly _prove it either, you just have enough evidence to fit the most _obvious _creature to blame. Me! But I didn't do it! I would never do such a thing, and why should I? My family line has been loyal to the rulers and masters of this land for many seasons, for untold generations! _And we have never betrayed anybody!_"

"No better time to change sides, isn't it?" Methusael said.

"Methusael, SHUT UP!"

Startled by Kani's suddenly outburst, Methusael obediently fell silent, giving Kani a surprised and bewildered look in the process. All was quiet in the throne room for a moment. Kani heaved a heavy sigh, calming himself, then he looked at Bluejay's cowering form, her ears pulled back making her look even more nervous, for a long moment. Finally, he made a choice.

"Put her in the dungeons." Kani ordered calmly. "She is to stay there for the time being, but she is to be treated well. Make sure she had plenty of food and water, and anything else, within reason, that she might need. Now please, go."

The guards that had escorted Bluejay then gently escorted the stunned vixen out of the room. The onlookers shuffled about for a moment, then they left as well. Kani rose from his throne and started to depart as well, but Methusael finally snapped out of the stunned state he had been and stopped him.

"Lord, I must question this choice." he said. "All the evidence suggests..."

"I _know _the evidence, Methusael, you explained it all to me unless there's something you left out." Kani interrupted contemptuously.

Methusael hesitated for a moment. "No, sire." he said, shaking his head. "But Bluejay has been convicted for murder. Our laws state..."

"I _know _the laws, Methusael, but I have the right to determine when they should be used." Kani said. "But you so-called evidence isn't evidence. It's only a theory that happens to fit the facts. You don't know with any more surety than I do that Bluejay killed anybody. Therefore, I will not condemn a possibly innocent creature to death until I know _for sure _that she's guilty. For all you know, she could've been framed! Leaving the real killer free to strike again! Look, she's being locked up for the time being, if she _is _the killer, then we have nothing to worry about for the time being. Be happy you have that much, Methusael." he started to push past Methusael and continue on his way.

But Methusael still blocked his path. "Master Kani, with all due respect..." he began.

Kani cut him short. "Prove to me, and I mean actually _prove_, that she killed my mother, Methusael, then I'll let you _personally _carry out the execution." he vowed, and without waiting for an answer, exited the room.

Methusael replied anyway. "Yes milord." he said, and went on his way.

* * *

Kani didn't realize he had been followed by Mordecai and Adah until he arrived at his office, and turned around to sit at his desk, seeing the pair for the first time. He sighed, and settled himself in his chair before speaking. He turned to Mordecai, awaiting commands.

"Mordecai, you're excused from your duties, go please." he instructed.

"Yes, Master Kani." Mordecai said, and departed.

Kani turned to Adah who he knew wasn't going to leave so easily. "Adah, I'm really not in the mood to talk." he said.

"Tough." Adah said, closing the door with her footpaw. "You're going to listen."

"Well, what is it that you wanted to say?" Kani demanded a little hotter than planned. "That I'm making the wrong choice? That I'm letting my grief for the murder of my family cloud my thinking? That I'm letting a killer off easy? That everything will work out in the end? Because it _won't _Adah. I know it. I think that my troubles are only just going to get _worse, _I know it. Something terribly wrong is happening here, and by the fur and claw, it seems that it's all meant to drive me up the wall. And oh, it's driving me up the wall, all right! So far up that I'll hurt myself when I stop and fall back down!" he cursed suddenly. "Adah, I can't handle this. I...I just can't. I shouldn't have to do this, I never should've have to deal with _any _of this. If things had gone as they _should've, _mother would still be happily in control of her lands, those lands would still be at peace, I would still have a brother, and..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Good seasons, I would still have a family, too. A actual, living, breathing, family...oh by the fur..."

The grief was finally too much. He slapped his paw against the desktop twice, let his head fall onto it with a loud thump, then slapped the desktop once more with his paw as he finally broke down a wept for a bitter moment. He didn't let it go on for much longer for a moment, though, getting himself back under his control and just silently rested his head against the desktop. Adah silently remained where she was for a long moment. Then, suddenly, she was beside Kani, wrapped her arms around him in a comforting gesture, pulling Kani close. Kani allowed her to do so, now letting his head rest gently against Adah's soft orange fur and warm body.

"I just wanted to tell you that you did the right thing, Kani." Adah told him softly, stroking his ears absentmindedly.

Kani felt himself calming down almost instantly, but he still couldn't ignore the facts. "Did I, Adah?" he asked. "Because I certainly hope you're right. I don't think I could handle it if I'm wrong."

* * *

As it turned out, Kani wasn't the only one in Angola who was beyond upset.

"Who arranged for the attack?" Moroni demanded, as he angrily paced back and forth before the rebels that had gathered, this time in the cellar of Moroni's own home. "I want to know who did it, and whose idea it was to do it, and I want to know _now_!"

Silence fell in the cellar as Moroni waited for a response. None came.

"Three creatures are dead now!" Moroni went on, pointing in the general direction of the scene of the unprovoked battle on the edge of the Angolian village. "Two of them are mice! Only one creature survived the attack, but his wounds are serious, and he may not live long enough to tell what happened! So I want to know, _who staged the attack_?"

More silence fell. Finally, Neph calmly stepped forward.

"Moroni, it was none of us." he said.

"How?" Moroni demanded. "Those two patrols were attacked by Angolians with Angolian weapons! Unless there is some other party of rebels out there that I don't know about it, we're the only ones who could've staged the attack! And I want to know why, who thought it would help us any, because it didn't, and who had the _gall _to kill our own fellow creatures!"

"Moroni," Neph repeated, stepping forward and placing a calmly paw on Moroni's shoulder, "we don't know anymore than you do."

"Because we didn't do anything." Sister Daisy added.

"Then who _did_?" Moroni asked, slowly starting to calm down, but still enraged at the fact that creatures were dead and it was him and his friends that were getting the blame. "And _why_?"

"I don't know who did it." Neph said.

"But you know why, don't you?"

"Yes. I think we were framed."

Moroni blinked, having not thought of this yet.

"Y'know, he's got a point." Amulek said, leaning in the corner, arms folded. "When you think about it, the guilty evidence points towards us a little too cleanly if you ask me. By the paw, Moroni, it even had you convinced. But we all know we wouldn't do it."

"So someone else had to have." Hyrum stated.

"But _why_?" Moroni repeated. "What could possibly be gained from this?"

"And why would somebeast want to blame us for such a bloody massacre?" Ammon asked.

"Perhaps it's somebeast who disapproves of our actions." Sister Daisy suggested. "Somebeast who wants us get justice, and thus arranged for this attack to blame upon us to give those at the castle the reason they need to seriously crack down upon us."

"Possibly, but murdering innocent creatures seems like a very high price just to try and get us out of the way." Neph pointed out.

Moroni suddenly looked thoughtful as a theory came to mind. "Maybe it's something more wicked than that." he said aloud.

All eyes went to him. "Moroni?" Ammon asked questioningly.

"We already agree that my father knew something more about all of this that he didn't have the chance to reveal." Moroni said. "He said that we should rebel and fight for our freedom, but beyond that, he never really said why. He didn't have the chance before he died. Then, moments later, his lordship, Hax, is brutally murdered. The blame was pinned on Angola for that as well. Amulek and Neph are right. Somebody is out there trying to pin the blame for his actions on us, somebeast who's already killed a member of the royal family." he paused for a moment. "And if that creature did it once, he or she could do it again."

"You're talking of treason and conspiracy." Amulek noted.

"It makes sense." Moroni said. "What other motive could such a creature have?"

"But Moroni, if you're right, then the only creatures who could do such a thing so effectively and get away with it for so long would have to be somebeast with power." Hyrum stated.

"Somebeast from Midnight Castle." Sister Daisy deduced instantly. "It has to be. Someone is plotting against the royal family."

Moroni nodded. "Father didn't want us just to obtain freedom." he said. "He wanted us to find a way to fight back against this conspiracy."


	15. Chapter 14

Mathoni arrives in Angola. 'nuff said 'ere mates. ;)

Chapter 14

Mathoni gave the canoe a heave and pulled it up onto the shore of the small river, next to a tall oak tree. He found it almost hard to believe that this same river was River Moss. In fact, it was more like a stream now. Mathoni had wondered if this even still was River Moss, that he had somehow gotten of course and followed some branch of the river instead of the actual river like he should've. But according to the map he had been given back at Redwall, he was on the right track.

Pulling his supplies from the canoe and gripping his stave with one paw, he reflected the journey so far. It had been pretty simple. Even though he had been paddling upstream, he made good progress. He estimated that he covered half the distance in just one afternoon before he came ashore to set up camp for the night, then covered the remaining distance the following day, today. Now it was late afternoon, the sun having reached it's zenith and was now moving through the western portion of the blue sky. Nothing had gone wrong yet. He had encountered nobeast during the journey, and he had more than enough supplies.

This was going to be pretty easy after all.

Deciding it would be better to play it safe, Mathoni covered the canoe with some surrounding shrubbery so it would be hidden from immediate view, and turned and continued walking to the east, studying his map as he went. According to it, the village of Angola shouldn't be too far from where he was now. It was proven right when, roughly about a half-hour later of walking, the woods fell away to form the border of the village itself.

Mathoni paused in the shelter of the trees, looking on into the cottage-filled village and it's surrounding lands for a few moments. All of the cottages present here had their backs turned towards him, and their windows closed and curtained. It was hard to tell what sort of creatures lived here. Feeling nervous, he wondered for a few moments how he should enter the village, as just walking right on in seemed improper.

Ultimately, though, that's what he did in the end, squeezing between two of the cottages and onto the dirt street that ran past their fronts. Mathoni looked up and down the street. It seemed empty, and void of anybeast present. He frowned, and continued walking, following the street as it twist and turned deeper into the village. As he went, he caught sight of a few creatures peeking out at him from their windows, most of them appearing to be mice, but they always ducked away the moment Mathoni turned to look in their direction. Becoming puzzled, the otter pressed on, not really sure what he should be looking for.

Finally, he came to what appeared to be the main street of the village, as the dirt street doubled in size, and stretched the whole length of the village. One end led back into the woods Mathoni had just left, while the other end led to the range of mountains that ran along one side of Angola. A very impressive castle stood on a little plateau that jutted out from the side of the mountain. After a moment of debate, Mathoni decided to head towards it.

There were more creatures to be seen on this main street of the village, but still far less than Mathoni had expected. Only a creature here and there could be seen, most of them turning away from Mathoni as he approached. This only made him grow that more puzzled. Skipper Rowe hadn't said too terribly much about Angola, but he had said enough that the impression Mathoni had gotten from that description didn't at all match what he was seeing now.

Eventually he came to a trio male mice working around a wagon. One of it's four wheels appeared to be broken, and the three were working at replacing it. Mathoni paused, then changed course to try and help.

"Ahoy there, mates, ye need a paw with that?" Mathoni asked as he stepped over. "If not, then mebbe ye can 'elp me. See, I'm lookin'..."

He trailed off as the mice turned to look at him, then hurried off, running into a side street that branched off of the main street near the wagon. Mathoni frowned, then threw his stave to the ground in frustration.

"Well." he said aloud and hotly for all to hear, "Real antsy bunch, aren't ye?"

But then the three mice returned, walking back out of the street they had ran into a lot calmer than they had ran into it. But this time they weren't alone. Following them, in fact, being _led_ by them, was a small patrol of armed, militaristic-looking creatures. When they saw Mathoni, their paws went for their weapons, and hurried towards the otter. Mathoni yelped, retrieved his stave, then turned to hurry away. Then he saw there was an identical patrol coming up to him from behind, cutting off his path.

Within moments, both patrols had Mathoni surrounded.

Mathoni gulped, and looked at his captors, all of which were pointing the butt-end of the staves they carried at Mathoni like spears. It was clear that they meant business. Half of the four creatures were mice, while the other half were, surprisingly to Mathoni, foxes. He looked at the two patrols for a long moment, trying to decide what he should do, before finally letting his own stave fall to the ground, and slowly raised his paws into the air.

"State your name." one of the foxes ordered, jabbing his stave at the otter.

"M-Mathoni." Mathoni replied, a touch nervous. "Of Redwall Abbey."

This drew a couple blank looks, telling Mathoni that these creatures weren't familiar with the abbey's name. He wasn't surprised. Rowe was the only Redwaller he knew of that had ever been out in this area of country before now, and that was before he became a member of Redwall's order. Still, it probably would've helped Mathoni's position if somebeast here knew of Redwall.

"What are your intentions?" the same fox asked next in his serious tone. He was all business.

"Just 'ere t' return somethin' for a friend of mine." Mathoni said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the medallion Rowe had given him to return. "I'm just lookin' for that creature. Once I'm done, I'll leave again, promise." He sensed that these Angolians didn't exactly want strangers in their lands at the moment.

"So you come in peace?" the mouse beside the fox asked. He seemed to be looking at Mathoni in a new light, which Mathoni took hope from.

"Aye, that's me intent." he said swiftly, anxious to resolve this situation.

"Unfortunately, you've come at the wrong time for it, riverdog." the other mouse growled.

"Now let's not be so quick to judge." the first mouse said. "Mathoni here hasn't done anything to harm any of us. I say we hear him out, if not by us, then by someone in authority, such as his lordship."

"That sounds reasonable to me." the fox said, nodding. He lowered his stave, and motioned to Mathoni. "Come, follow us."

Mathoni nodded, retrieved his stave once again, and followed them down main street towards the castle seen sitting on it's perch on the side of the range of mountains. The trip was relatively quick, for the two patrols moved quickly, forcing Mathoni to have to move faster to keep up. About another half-hour later, they were at the entrance to the castle. One of the foxes from the patrol knocked on the door. They opened, and were greeted with more foxes, all of which armed. The situation was quickly and quietly explained, and then Mathoni was motioned to follow the new group of foxes. They led him inside. The two patrols stayed outside, looking like they planned to return to the village as the doors were closed, blocking them from Mathoni's view.

The foxes led the otter swiftly through the impressive hallways of the castle's interior, moving just as fast as the two patrols that had gotten him here. As such, Mathoni had little chance to stop and look around, but he was still in awe with the structure, having never seen a structure bigger and better than Redwall before. Eventually, they arrived in a medium sized room, sparsely populated with creatures. Upon seeing the fancy chair sitting alone at the far side of the room, Mathoni immediately identified it as the throne room.

No creature sat in the throne, however. Instead, a fox stood beside it, watching silently as Mathoni was escorted in. Standing on the other side of the throne, a greater distance away from the chair than the first creature, was another fox who looked to be a military leader of some sort. Mathoni was brought to stand before both of them, and then silence fell, as if Mathoni was expected to do something.

He didn't know what, though, and looked around awkwardly. "Um..." he began, rubbing the fur on his arm absentmindedly.

It was then that two of the guards that escorted him in roughly shoved him into a kneeling position before the first of the two foxes standing beside the throne. Mathoni, however, was thankful for the guidance, telling him what he needed to do.

He bowed his head respectfully. "Yore lordship." he greeted politely.

The creature he presumed to be the lord looked Mathoni over curiously. "You seem like an innocent enough youth." he noted, then turned to the second fox. "Methusael, did you really think it was necessary to arrest him?"

"Arrest him?" Mathoni repeated, surprised.

"He was not arrested." the fox named Methusael replied calmly. "He was simply brought here for interrogation."

"That still seems like he was arrested." the first fox remarked.

"I suppose you can look at it that way." Methusael said. "The point is that he is here, now, Master Kani."

The first fox, named Kani, turned back to Mathoni. He sat down in the throne with a sigh, and nodded. "All right then." he said. "What is your name, otter?"

"Mathoni, yore majesty." Mathoni replied. "I'm from Redwall Abbey."

"Redwall Abbey...I've heard of it." Kani said, rubbing at his chin. "Somewhere in Mossflower, right?"

"That's right."

"A place of peace, correct?"

"Aye."

"Then I fail to see the problem." Kani said, turning to look back at Methusael. "I say we let him go about his way. I can't see any reason to not to."

"Neither can I, at present, but we must keep in mind the present situation." Methusael pointed out.

Kani glanced back at Mathoni, who was starting to feel lost. "Why are you here, Mathoni?" he asked.

"I'm lookin' for a mouse named Mormon." Mathoni said, pulling out the medallion and handing it to Kani to examine. "He gave that medallion t' a friend of mine at Redwall, an' I was sent back t' return it t' him."

Kani examined the medallion for a moment. "Hmm, interesting little trinket." he said. He tossed it and caught it. "Okay then, we'll make this simple. Methusael, please track down this Mormon so young Mathoni here can return the medallion to him, and then..."

"Mormon is dead, sir."

Mathoni and Kani both turned to look at Methusael.

"Dead?" Mathoni said.

"You knew him?" Kani asked.

"So did you, Kani." Methusael said. "He was the father of Moroni, the captain of the Angola militia. He died the same day as..."

"...as Hax." Kani finished, his eyes suddenly looking vacant.

There was a moment of silence. Then Methusael continued.

"The point of the matter, however, is that I don't believe it to be wise for young Mathoni to be present in Angola at this time." he said. "You probably are not aware of this, but there have been several conflicts occurring here in Angola, serious enough that lives have been lost."

Mathoni's eyes went wide in surprise. "Good seasons." he said. "Do ye need...y'know...'elp?"

"Much obliged, Mathoni, but I believe this is a situation we should handle ourselves." Methusael stated. "I wouldn't want an innocent creature such as yourself be put at risk for the likes of us." he paused. "But of course, the final choice is up to his lordship."

Kani sighed, and nodded, rubbing his forehead with one paw. "It sounds reasonable enough." he admitted. He handed back the medallion to Mathoni. "I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, young Mathoni, but I'm afraid the creature you are looking for is no longer around, and hasn't been around since this past winter. Methusael is probably right. The best thing for you to do now is to begin your journey back to Redwall."

"We will also have an escort see you out of Angola." Methusael added suddenly.

Kani gave Methusael an odd look, but nodded. "Very well," he said, "thank you for your patience, Mathoni, and I wish you well."

Mathoni stood, and nodded. "Thank ye, yore lordship." he said, politely, and turned and left, the guards going with him, doubling as his escort.

Kani turned to Methusael. "So why the armed escort, Methusael?" he asked.

Methusael gave him a leveled look. "To protect him from attack from any enemies we know to be out there." he said plainly. "Perhaps the rebels might decide it would be advantageous to their cause to capture him."

Kani didn't buy it, though, giving Methusael a cool grin. "You sure it's for Mathoni's protection?" he asked. "Or because you don't trust him?"

Methusael sighed. "Master Kani, you of all people surely must understand that due to recent events, we simply can't go about trusting everyone who comes to our doorstep, not until we have resolved this situation. You must admit that the timing of his visit is poor if he wished to not be suspected of anything."

Kani chuckled dryly. "You do bring up a very good point." he admitted. "But look at him, Methusael. Mathoni's so young, and still carries the innocence of his youth. I couldn't imagine him being responsible for anything. He's so carefree...he's living a beautiful and perfect life, as it should be for him." he sighed longingly. "I must admit I'm rather envious of him."

* * *

The sun had begun to set as Mathoni was led back into the village. Angola was more silent and vacant than before, though now there were more patrols about. Lanterns were lit to help light the path as the light from the sun faded. All was quiet as they walked down the dusty street. Mathoni looked around at the dark houses, not seeing any mice that weren't patrols out and about anymore. He wondered why, and if it had anything to do with the "conflicts" Methusael had alluded to, whatever they were.

Puzzled, he walked on. He was a little put out, to be perfectly honest. This hadn't gone at all like he had hoped. It was bad enough that he wouldn't be able to carry out Skipper Rowe's request to return the medallion because the original owner was dead now. The fact that he was being sent away like a Dibbun, though, only seemed to rub the matter into his face, though. He had hoped this whole journey would change that, that he would be able to return home a better and more respected creature, but it didn't seem like that would happen after all.

He sighed heavily, sniffed, wiped at his nose with one paw, hung his head, and kept walking.

It was then that a slingstone dropped one of the foxes escorting him.

Mathoni yelped in alarm as his escort suddenly closed in around him in a circle, pointing their staves outwards, searching for their unseen attacker. But the attacker remained just that: unseen. A moment later, another slingstone whizzed through the air and knocked another one of the foxes out, leaving only two still standing. Mathoni quickly prepared himself for a fight if he needed to.

A quick buzzing sound like that of an angry wasp rang out, and dropped another fox. The last remaining fox, starting to panic, looked urgently around for his attacker, but still was not finding him. Mathoni was searching too, but wasn't having a shred more luck than the fox. Without warning, the last fox dropped suddenly, and like a stone. The slingstone that had taken him out fell to the dirt road with a thump.

Only Mathoni remained now. Breathing in quick frightened breaths, he looked all around him and saw that he was completely alone on this street. Just to be safe, though, he whirled around in a complete circle to make sure there was truly no one. There wasn't. But he never did see the attacker, and it was quite possible the creature was still there, waiting for his chance to shoot. But several moments passed in silence, and nothing happened.

Beginning to calm down again, Mathoni started to turn around with the idea of hurrying back to Midnight Castle to report that he had been attacked when he came face to face with a mouse he had never seen before. Using his stave, the mouse slammed it's butt end into Mathoni's head, and everything went dark instantly.


	16. Chapter 15

Kani gets more bad news. Mathoni is brought up to date. A plan is made. There was going to be some Redwall stuff in this chapter too, but it didn't happen. So next chapter will likely be all-Redwall. :)

Chapter 15

"Master Kani, this message just arrived." Mordecai announced as he urgently entered Kani's study a little later that night as Kani discussed matters with Methusael. "It was sent by messenger from the Angola militia. It's very urgent."

Kani looked up from the parchment he and Methusael had been studying, noting the faint look of concern that was etched behind Mordecai's eyes. He nodded.

"What does it say?" he asked politely.

"A patrol found an escort of foxes stunned and lying about the ground within the village." Mordecai explained, referring to the note in his paw for reference as needed. "They're all right, but it would seem they were attacked."

"The rebels." Methusael deduced quickly.

"Whatever for?" Kani thought out loud. He then froze as he realized a possible connection. "Where is this escort of foxes at now?" he asked.

"They're still being brought to their senses." Mordecai stated, glancing at the note. "They will be escorted up to the castle for further medical attention as soon as possible."

"Okay, does it say what they were escorting?" Kani prompted.

"Kani?" Methusael asked.

"Methusael, I only knew of two escorts who have left the castle tonight." Kani said. "One left guarding a cart of supplies that was being moved to a storage building on the other side of the village, and the other was assigned to escort a visitor out of the village." he looked expectantly at Methusael to make the connection.

It wasn't long before it was made. "You're thinking of young Mathoni," Methusael realized.

Kani nodded. Meanwhile, Mordecai was looking the message in his paw over for any details about what the escort of foxes had been guarding. Finally, he sighed.

"It doesn't say precisely, Master Kani," he reported. "I don't think the creature who wrote out this message thought to take note of it. It does say that according to the foxes that were attacked that were awake at the time the message was sent, they say that there was five creatures in their party, but now there are only four."

Kani rose from his seat. "It _was _Mathoni's escort that was attacked." he said, alarmed.

"Then where is Mathoni?" Methusael asked, also rising. "Do you think he panicked and ran off?"

"No, Mathoni is much too bright a lad for that," Kani deduced instantly, "He would've gone for help."

"Kidnaped, then?" Methusael suggested, "By the rebels?"

"Possibly, but what could they possibly hope to gain from it?" Kani asked.

"Clearly, though, by doing this, they are not helping their image any," Methusael said, "Perhaps they intend to hold young Mathoni ransom for something."

"I certainly hope not!" Kani exclaimed, paling at the idea.

"If I may ask, who is Mathoni?" Mordecai asked, who was unfamiliar with the name.

"A very bright young otter who arrived in our boundaries just earlier this night." Kani explained, "He came up here from Mossflower in an attempt to return a item to a creature who is unfortunately dead. We sent him back with an escort of creatures to leave the valley safely." He frowned, and bowed his head, looking crestfallen. "Clearly, it wasn't enough." he sat back down in his chair, depressed. "Good seasons, I hope he is in no danger. I would hate to see his life taken over a matter that was never his to begin with." He turned to Methusael. "Rally together a small search party and look for Mathoni. Maybe you're right, and he just ran off frightened. I would hope that much no matter what I thought of the lad. I know we're stretched thin in forces at the moment, but Mathoni was last seen willing standing within our territory. He was also our guest. Therefore, he is our responsibility."

* * *

Mathoni first realized he was coming to again when he became aware of the throbbing pain in his head, like a little Dibbun had snuck in there and was banging around in there. With his eyes still closed, he moaned, gingerly moving his limbs about to make sure they were in still working order. As he did so, a damp, but warm, cloth was pressed to his forehead, soothing the pain slightly.

"Easy, easy there now," a calm and soft feminine voice spoke above him, "You were hit much harder than what was necessary. In fact, you didn't need to be hit at all, you poor thing. I'll have some choice words in mind for Amulek next time I see that...that..." the voice gave a disgruntled sigh. "Oh well, I suppose what's done is done."

Mathoni moaned again, squeezing his eyes tighter, "Wot happened?" he managed to ask aloud weakly, his throat feeling dry and sore.

"Oh, good, you're awake," the voice spoke, removing the cloth. The sound of it being placed in a basin to soak could be heard, "You were certainly out for a very long time."

Mathoni opened his eyes finally, only to squeeze them shut again in the bright light that shone in his eyes. Opening them again a touch more cautiously, he found that he was in a small and homely little bedroom. He instantly guessed that he was in one of the many cottages that composed Angola. Bright early morning sunlight was streaming in through the room's only window, falling upon the bed Mathoni was neatly tucked into, the beams warming the covers nicely. The voice belonged to a pretty mousewife who wore a plain brown dress, and hovered over Mathoni in a motherly fashion.

She began dabbing at the otter's forehead again with the cloth. "Sorry about that, by the way." she continued speaking. "I was against that, just so you know, but..." she sighed. "I suppose they know best."

Mathoni frowned, and started to sit up. "Who's they?" he asked. "Wot exactly _did _'appen? Why am I 'ere?"

The mousewife paused, then nodded. "I'll get someone who can answer those questions better than I can." she said, and quickly hurried out the door.

Mathoni frowned, sat all the way up, and stared at the door she had hurried out of. He thought for a moment about what he should do, before finally just deciding to sit and wait. While he did wait, he took the chance to look himself over. Except for a bump on the head, the swelling for which already going down, he was unhurt. His stave, sling, and supplies had all been taken from him, but they hadn't gone far. He quickly noticed that they simply set in one corner of the room. Clearly, whoever that had brought him here trusted him enough to not escape or cause trouble, which made Mathoni think that these creatures must be good creatures, or at least they mean well. At least he had that much to comfort him.

It didn't take long for the mousewife to retrieve the creature in question, for he arrived not long thereafter, alone, gently closing the door behind him. He, too, was a mouse, but was currently dressed in a uniform, and carried an air of authority and leadership about him. He calmly approached Mathoni and grinned politely.

"Good morning," the mouse greeted, "Sorry for what happened last night, but I hope once things are explained, you'll understand why it was done. I am Moroni. The blushing maiden who was in here caring for you is my lovely wife, Ruth."

"I'm Mathoni, mate." Mathoni said, extending a paw for Moroni to shake. "From Redwall Abbey."

Moroni frowned. "I'm not familiar with it," he said, "Is it far?"

"More or less." Mathoni said with a shrug. "Ye wouldn't be th' first creature I met 'ere who 'adn't 'eard of it."

Moroni nodded, and pulled up a chair next to Mathoni's bed, sitting in it. "Ruth will be back shortly with some breakfast for you," he explained, "In the meantime, there is some explaining we both need to do. Let's start with you, Mathoni. Why are you so far from home?"

"Oh, well, that's easy." Mathoni said, reaching into his pocket, fishing for the medallion that had brought him here. "Friend of mine at Redwall sent me 'ere with this." he held up the trinket for Moroni to see. Moroni took it from the otter to examine further. "He 'ad gotten it from a creature he met 'ere several seasons back, an' sent me t' return it t' him. Mebbe ye've 'eard of him, mate. His name is, or was, Mormon."

Moroni looked up sharply. "Mormon was the name of my father." he said sharply.

Mathoni suddenly snapped his claws. "_That's _where I've 'eard yore name before!" he exclaimed, pointing at Moroni. "It was mentioned briefly when talkin' about Mormon when I met with Lord Kani."

Moroni gave Mathoni a curious look. He pocketed the medallion, which Mathoni didn't mind. Probably should go to Moroni anyway.

"What did you and your lordship talk about, anyway?" the mouse asked. "Can you tell me?"

Mathoni nodded, and briefly related the meeting and discussion he had with Kani and Methusael, going all the way up to the point where he left Midnight Castle with the armed escort. When he finished, Moroni was nodding absentmindedly, pulling at one of his whiskers.

"I thought as much, but I had to make sure," he commented, "Unfortunately, Mathoni, you've come at a rather bad time for Angola."

"Aye, so I've been told."

"It's worse than that. The reason you were attacked and knocked unconscious as you were was because we couldn't trust you until we knew for sure what it was _exactly _that you were told at Midnight Castle."

Mathoni looked blank for a moment. "How would that make a difference?"

"We have reason to believe that there is at least one conspirator within Midnight Castle, someone plotting to take it all for his or her self."

There was a moment of silence while Mathoni processed this.

"So, because of this, ye couldn't trust me, 'cause ye can't trust th' creatures at th' castle," Mathoni reasoned, "Ye didn't know if they told me lies about all of this, or the truth."

"Exactly." Moroni replied. "So when we saw that you were leaving, we took the chance to attack and get you alone long enough to find out the details of what happened. The plan was to just catch you and bind you and escort you away. But Amulek, that was the creature who had done the attacking, got a little carried away. I've already spoken to him about it. No serious harm done, though, right?"

"Aye, no real 'arm, nothin' that'll 'ave any lastin' effects at least." Mathoni said with a nod.

Ruth then returned, carrying a tray with a large breakfast on it. It contained bread, cheese, some mixed vegetables, a bowl of oatmeal, and a platter of cooked watershrimp, which immediately made Mathoni brighten. Flashing the otter a cheerful grin, Ruth placed the tray before the otter, and then started to walk off. While passing her husband, she paused and whispered in his ear that his breakfast was downstairs on the table when he was ready for it. Nodding in understanding, he patted Ruth on the paw, and motioned for her to be on her way.

Mathoni dug into the breakfast for a moment, until he realized Moroni didn't have a meal to eat.

"Ain't ye hungry mate?" he asked.

"Not very," Moroni replied, "I'll get my breakfast later, after I'm done talking with you. We a good deal more to discuss."

"Aye, 'bout that." Mathoni said, nibbling on the watershrimp and finding it was very fresh. "Ye've gotten me t' tell ye wot happened last night at the castle. So...now wot?"

"Now I ask if you can help me with something." Moroni said. He paused, looking at his footpaws nervously for a long moment. "Mathoni, if I tell you this, I'm trusting you to not go blabbing it out to everyone."

Mathoni nodded to indicate that he understood.

Moroni sighed before continuing. "You already know my father is dead." he began. "He died from an illness this previous winter. Before he died, he gave me some final instructions. To break away from the order of Angola and work to obtain freedom from it's lord and lady. Just moments after he died, a member of the royal family, Kani's younger brother, had been found...by me...stabbed by somebeast, and shortly thereafter, he, too, died. Everyone agreed it was murder, but no one could prove who did it. Seeing that Hax was killed with an Angolian weapon, most of the blame was eventually placed upon my fellow creatures and I.

"It was then that I decided that Father had been right. We needed our freedom. I rallied a few creatures together and we began fighting back against the rule of Angola in secret, even though there were times when we ourselves didn't fully understand why we felt so compelled to do this. Meanwhile, things in Angola grew worse. In addition to Hax's murder, the creatures here began to divide themselves from each other over forms of opinions. Kani reacted accordingly to the minor threat that we, the rebels, presented, but fortunately he didn't use any serious force, and neither did we. Unexplained attacks on creatures began occurring, with everyone blaming each other for it. The most recent killed three creatures, including two mice. Kani's mother, Lady Grinta, recently died, and the rumors say that she, too, was murdered with poison. Kani then became lord, and it was then that my followers made the connection.

"You see, Mathoni, Mormon knew something about what was happening in Angola, but never told me directly what it was before he died. Only vague clues. We believe now that he had somehow found out that someone in Angola was plotting against the throne, and he was hoping that I would do it, along with whomever helped me. I don't know why he didn't just tell me. Maybe he felt that the fight for freedom was just as important, if not more so, and knew that either way, the conspiracy would be stopped. But the important thing is that now we _do _know, and we've decided what course of action to take next."

"So wot are ye plannin' on doin'?" Mathoni asking, following along as he ate.

"There's really no other choice." Moroni said flatly. "We need to tell somebeast. Preferably somebeast inside Midnight Castle. A creature with authority. A fox. I don't think we can handle this conspiracy peacefully on our own. We need somebeast on the inside to help us, and it has to be somebeast we can trust. We'll have to reveal that it is indeed us who are the rebels, but so be it. All we have to do is select the creature we can trust and tell him."

"I believe Lord Kani can be trusted." Mathoni offered.

"As do I." Moroni agreed with a nod. "Kani's always been a good creature to both his kind and my own. Even before he became lord, he supported the idea of a united and peaceful Angola. Besides, he's been getting brunt of the damage this conspiracy has been dealing out. His entire family is now dead, and it's clear to all that he's taken it hard. That's not the attitude of a conspirator. Rumor is that he's even apprehensive of _being_ lord. Kani can be trusted."

"So now that ye've decided he ain't a part of this conspiracy, ye just need to tell him." Mathoni deduced.

"And the sooner, the better. If we really are right, and we have no reason to believe that we aren't, then Kani's in great danger. Most likely he'll be the next target in this conspiracy. If we don't act quick and warn him of the danger, then Kani could be joining the rest of his family in the burial grounds."

Mathoni was silent for a moment while he thought about that dark though, food forgotten for the moment. He then realized a matter that hadn't been addressed yet.

"Wait a moment, mate." he said. "How do I fit into all of this?"

"'Tis a simple matter." Moroni said. "Kani won't trust us rebels no matter what we say simply because we've rebelled against him. But he will trust you."


	17. Chapter 16

The Redwallers deal with their unwanted guest. A little more about the mysterious religion the teacher follows is revealed, but not much. I'm getting excited, because soon we're going to be having several important events occurring at once. :)

Chapter 16

By the second day of his stay, the Redwallers had all gotten to know the mysterious mouse that was only known as the teacher. Following the abbot's request that he be treated like any other creature that would stay at Redwall, the teacher was given anything he might need. Food, water, shelter, anything. Otherwise, most of the Redwallers had learned to avoid and ignore him if possible.

The teacher seemed to have known this would happen from the beginning, when the creatures of Redwall arose the morning following the teacher's arrival at the abbey. He did not breakfast with the other Redwallers in Cavern Hole, and instead took his breakfast and ate in the bedchamber he had been provided. No beast saw him again until a few hours later (not that anybody cared), when the mysterious mouse arrived at the edge of the pond, still dressed in his robes and carrying the usual staff, knelt down, and seemed to fall into a state of meditation for the next hour or so.

The Redwallers watched him curiously, regardless of their apprehension, but they kept their distance. A few dibbuns wandered up to the creature and tried to make a game out of trying to poke the creature and get a response until they were finally shooed away by their elders and kept away. The teacher never seemed to notice, as he never responded to his surroundings at all.

Finally, the teacher rose again, and began visiting with the inhabitants of the abbey, politely asking if he could speak with them beforehand. Unlike the night previous, where he just bluntly said why he was here and what he intended to do, the teacher began the conversation more politely and slowly, gradually building up to climax of his curious beliefs to lessen the shock.

At first, he had a whole group of creatures following him around, mostly out of curiosity, but the moment the teacher announced that what the Redwallers believed in the most strongly was false in his eyes, the followers reacted much like the council did and left rather quickly, unwilling to hear a word more. Word of what the teacher believed in spread quickly, and before the day was done, the teacher was being completely avoided again, who took it in stride like he anticipated this reaction. Again taking his dinner in his bedchamber, no beast saw the creature again until morning.

Now as day two of the teacher's visit wore on, and it seemed he was trying again at his teachings, politely approaching Redwallers at random and beginning discussions. He wasn't getting near as many listeners as before, though, and most of them were from the younger group of creatures at Redwall who were curious regardless of their apprehension. And they didn't stay long; usually they were quickly pulled away by their parents and told to not to interact with the mysterious mouse.

Abbot Isaiah found he couldn't argue with them. If he had a son, he likely do the same.

From the window of his study, he watched as the teacher stood on the bank of the abbey pond, conversing with a group of otters that were lounging in the shallows. The otters looked to be growing more and more apprehensive as the teacher continued. Finally, some started swimming away to do other things.

Isaiah sighed. He didn't like the teacher anymore than any other creature in the abbey, but he still stood by what he said two nights ago. They needed to treat the creature fairly. Doing otherwise would tarnish their name, and it wasn't worth it over a trivial matter such as this. Fortunately, though, the Redwallers, for the most part, obeyed. The teacher received whatever help he needed, which was little, and he in turn was allowed to do as he wanted. It just wasn't productive, as the Redwallers were avoiding him. At least no fights had broken out over the matter, which Isaiah had feared greatly was going to occur, but thus far he had been thankfully proven wrong.

There was a knock on his study door. Isaiah glanced back at it before turning back to the window.

"You may enter, Linus," he called.

The recorder squirrel opened the door and entered, looking throughly impressed. "How did you know it was me, Father Abbot?" he asked.

"Experience," Isaiah replied with a knowing grin, watching Linus join him at the window, "Anyway, what brings you here?"

Linus sighed, and didn't reply right away. He followed the abbot's gaze out the window at the teacher still trying to teach.

"I see that you're keeping a close eye on that mouse as well," he noted, nodding at the creature standing at the pond.

Isaiah nodded. "I've noticed that we all are," he stated, "I think we're all looking for some reason we can act upon so we can be rid of him. However, he is not causing any trouble. Less than even I was expecting."

"Do you really think it'll last?" Linus asked, "Things has been getting a little tense around here."

Isaiah merely shrugged. Linus looked at his footpaws for a moment.

"Father Abbot, I stopped by to apologize," he finally admitted slowly, "For my reaction at the council meeting two nights ago regarding...him." he motioned to the teacher outside the window, "You were right. Regardless of what we think of him, we shouldn't treat him any less than any other creature unless we have reason to. And we don't, and never did. So...sorry."

"Apology accepted." Isaiah said, turning around to carefully lower himself into his chair at his desk. He moved it so he could still look at Linus. "You are not the first to seek forgiveness, either. Nearly everyone else has come to me and apologized for their actions at that meeting. Illia was among the first, and she genuinely meant it, too. Sister Mint apologized as well, though she still stands by what she said at that meeting. Tobias reluctantly apologized as well earlier this morning. The only creatures who _haven't _apologized is Machaerus and Rowe. They are still very much opposed to my decision to allow the teacher to stay. But Linus, you need to understand that they have every reason to. I'll be the first to say it. That creature isn't to be trusted. I don't know what he's up to, but I seriously doubt it is for the good of this abbey."

"That makes the two of us." Linus agreed, looking back out the window to watch the teacher finally leave the edge of the pond to head somewhere else, "But Father Abbot, why do you think we feel that way? Technically speaking, it is as you say, the creature hasn't caused any trouble."

Isaiah grinned comfortingly. "Despite what the teacher might say, Linus, the spirit of Martin the Warrior knows all," he replied cryptically.

* * *

"Now, after you have dug the hole, place the seed in and cover the hole with the dirt you scooped out, and water–Alexander, are you paying attention?"

Alexander turned away from the cherry tomato plant he had been picking tomatoes off of and stuffing into his mouth, swallowing quickly in an attempt to clear his throat before speaking. "Of course I am, mother." he said sweetly.

Aquila looked up at her son and saw the sticky tomato juice and little seeds plastered all over his whiskers and shook her head. "Alexander, I asked you to stay out of the cherry tomatoes, so could you _please _at least _try _to?" she said, exasperated.

"But they're so nice and bite-sized!" Alexander said in his defense, holding out his paws to emphasize the point, only to reveal they were sticky and covered with little tomato seeds as well, "And I'm hungry!"

Aquila sighed in despair. "Alexander, breakfast couldn't have been more than an hour ago," she pointed out. "You shouldn't _be _so hungry. Didn't you get enough to eat?"

"I dunno."

"What _did _you have for breakfast?"

"Um...two apples, some rolls, a handful of watershrimp that Tobias gave me, some nuts, some salad, some _more _nuts, uh, another apple..."

"Sounds to me you had _more _than enough to eat."

"No, that's just what I could get my paws on."

Aquila rolled her eyes and couldn't help but grin. "At least I know you're growing." she said, "But please, come watch. I want you to learn this."

"Why must I?" Alexander asked with a frown, as he walked over, his tail drooping.

"Because it's important that you learn things such as this." Aquila said, brushing dirt from her fur. "Gardening is an important skill to know when you are older."

"That would depend on how you are raised."

Alexander and Aquila turned and saw the teacher standing at the edge of the garden beside them, looming over the two kneeling creatures and casting a shadow on them. Alexander cowered a bit, and Aquila's ears folded back as she narrowed her eyes at the mysterious mouse.

"What do _you _want?" she asked hotly.

"I was merely making a comment." the mouse replied simply, undeterred, "Where I am from, not all creatures needed to know how to garden. Such tasks were called of selected creatures by hallowed Gemini."

"Who's Hallowed Gemini?" Alexander asked, brow furrowed in curiosity.

The teacher grinned a rare grin. "Gemini," he began, "is the creator of the world we live upon, and protector of all that is righteous. He looks upon his followers and decides which are most fitting for certain tasks. For instance, I was called to serve in the Quorum of Teachers as a teacher. Another might be called to serve in the Quorum of Farmers as a gardener."

"This is all very interesting, but unless you're going to help..." Aquila began as she angrily began using a spade to dig another hole.

To her surprise, the teacher drove his staff in the ground so that it wouldn't fall, and knelt down and began helping Alexander clear the dug dirt out of the way. Once the hole was dug, the teacher then handed Alexander the bag of seeds so he could pull one out and drop one into the hole. The mouse then filled in the hole. Aquila, slightly shocked, looked up at him in surprise.

"So, do you always help other creatures?" Alexander asked curiously, tugging on the teacher's robe.

"Occasionally as needed." the mouse replied. "Usually, however, we work together in teams, each team assigned a certain task to carry out. If we all work together and do our assigned jobs, things work quite nicely. Your abbey operates on a similar principle, I've noticed."

"Then why do you say we've been led astray?" Alexander asked, who knew very well what the teacher had been telling creatures during his stay.

"Because you have." the mysterious mouse replied, "I would not blame yourselves, however. The deed was no doubt done many generations ago, long before you were born. You've merely been following false teachings."

"What makes them false?" Alexander asked, while Aquila found herself listening despite herself.

"Because Gemini has declared to all of his followers that any teachings that are not the same as his own are false, spread only by the wicked who seek to lead creatures from the path righteousness."

"Does that mean _we _are wicked?" Alexander asked, looking worried.

The teacher opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, he was promptly cut short.

"Don't ye _dare _answer that question!" Rowe roared as he suddenly advanced upon the mouse.

"You do not know how I intend to answer, Skipper Rowe." the mouse replied calmly, looking up at the angry otter.

"I don't _need _t' know!" Rowe said, "Ye were goin' t' tell 'em that they _were _wicked creatures!"

"It was a perfectly liable question." the mouse replied.

"Mebbe so, but yore answer would've been false!" Rowe said, "Aquila an' Alexander, by the fur, _every _creature in this abbey, in fact, are good creatures! Very good creatures that would make our world a much better place if given half th' chance! Don't ye _dare _tell them otherwise."

"I would be telling them a lie, then." The mouse replied, still very calm despite the fact the Rowe was clearly quite the opposite, "But they should not worry. They can be forgiven of their transgressions if they merely repent and follow Gemini."

"This Gemini creature can just lie an' _rot _for all I care!" Rowe snapped, "Ye aren't 'ere t' 'elp any of us! An' we aren't goin' t' listen, so ye should just _leave_."

The mouse's eyes narrowed into a glare as he placed a paw on his staff where it still stood, stuck in the ground. "This matter does not concern you, otter." he said warningly.

"It has _everythin'_ t' do with me if yore gonna tell innocent creatures lies!" Rowe said, grabbing the mouse's arm roughly and tugging to pull the teacher to his feet. "Now get away from–"

The teacher moved like lightning, grabbing his staff, pulling it free from the ground, and then knocking Rowe in the jaw with it's top in so quick and fluid a movement that one could've blinked and missed it entirely. Struck hard, Rowe was knocked off his feet and hit the ground hard on his back.

"Rowe!" Aquila exclaimed, and hurried over to help the otter.

Rowe merely brushed her away, though, rubbing at his bleeding lip. "I'm fine, Aquila, let me 'andle this." he growled.

"Be careful otter." the teacher said, brandishing the staff at the Skipper of Otters, "The blue sapphire on this staff is one of the Stones of Gemini. It has been bestowed with power to smite the wicked, a power that is transferred to the carrier."

"Th' only power _it_ has is th' power of makin' a club," Rowe said, looking at the blood staining his paw to make sure it wasn't bad before lowering it.

"Skip, please don't start a fight, it's not worth it." Aquila pleaded, "Remember what the abbot requested."

Rowe leveled a long look at the mouse, then nodded. "Fine," he said, standing and walking off, "But I'll be keeping an eye on you, mouse."

"Gemini will be doing the same for you." the teacher said, as he too, walked off.

Alexander watched the two walk off, then turned to Aquila. "Mother, _are _we wicked?" he asked, seeing that his question wasn't directly answered.

Aquila pulled him into a comforting hug. "I certainly think you aren't, Alexander." she said sweetly. "Don't listen to that mouse. What he thinks doesn't matter."

"What if it does?"

"It doesn't, Alexander."

"But are you sure?"

Aquila found she couldn't answer that. And that fact alone scared her...

* * *

After the encounter with Rowe, the teacher made a decision that he knew he was probably going to make anyway when he first arrived at Redwall.

He returned promptly to his room and set aside his staff. Guaranteeing that he was alone, he went to the window and opened it. Looking down at the grounds below to make sure that there weren't any creatures within hearing range, he put his claws to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle.

In response, a small jackdaw flapped out from somewhere within the woods neighboring Redwall Abbey and homed in on the whistle, perching in the window of the teacher, where it waited patiently and silently. The teacher quickly wrote out a message on parchment and then attached it to the jackdaw's leg. Once the teacher removed his paws, the jackdaw took flight again, knowing exactly what it needed to do, and started flying to it's location.

The teacher stayed at the window long enough to see the bird off, then closed the window and turned his attention to other things.

But unknown to him, he and the jackdaw had been seen, and when the jackdaw flew off, another bird flew after it, tailing it from afar.

Blackwing didn't know where the bird was going, why, and what was on the message, but the sparrow sensed that he would know a great deal more if he followed this bird to its destination...


	18. Chapter 17

More Angola stuff, the situation there takes an unfortunate turn. Mostly characterization stuff, and therefore filler. There was going to be a little Redwall blurb updating things there, but the chapter ran on longer than expected with just the Angola stuff, so I'll save that for the next chapter.

Chapter 17

Kani slept well that night. No dreams awakening him in the middle of the night, and no new unexpected disasters the following morning. Granted, things hadn't improved from the day before, but at least they hadn't gotten any worse. Kani had awakened that morning ready to do his work.

"Good seasons aplenty, I'm a good mood today, Mordecai." he said as he strolled into his study that day, Mordecai following him.

"I am pleased to hear that, Master Kani." Mordecai said, carrying a tray with Kani's breakfast on it. "You haven't been the best of spirits as of late."

"Yes, I know, but now I am ready to set things straight." Kani said, sitting down at his desk with a flourish and pulling out a bundle of parchments and sorting through them. "Yes, setting things right...Mordecai, what are these parchments about?"

"The plans for the additions to the kitchens they intend on beginning construction next season, Master Kani." Mordecai replied, setting the tray down on Kani's desk as well. "They need authorization before they can proceed with the plans."

"Then authorization they shall get!" Kani said happily, pulling out a quill and signing the parchments in rapid succession without even reading them. "Nothing can dampen my spirits, today, no sir! I can handle it! I can–Mordecai, these are signed now, you can take them to the kitchens now."

He handed his servant the parchments, who gathered them into a neat little stack and turned to exit the study with them. Kani continued on his cheerful rant, leaning back in his seat.

"Yes, I can handle anything!" He said. "Just give to me. Take you best shot at me, life! Just you try! But you aren't knocking me down anymore, no sir! I can take whatever you throw at me, so just give your best..."

It was then that Methusael entered the study in a hurry, banging the door open into Mordecai, who was about to open it, scattering the pile of parchments everywhere. Kani, startled by the sudden entrance, overbalanced in his chair and crashed to the floor. Methusael hardly seemed to notice as he strode right up to Kani's desk, his eyes locked on a small scrap of parchment in his paws.

"Lord Kani, one of the patrols just arrived and delivered this message." he explained without looking up. "It is urgent that you see this; it involves the rebels."

Kani picked himself off the floor and snatched the parchment from Methusael, reading it in silence.

"What does it say, Master Kani?" Mordecai asked, having recollected the parchments he dropped again and straightened in time to see Kani's eyes go wide surprise.

"It's a message from the rebels themselves." Kani explained, now rereading the message. "They say that they have something important to tell me and want to meet with me, in private, as soon as possible."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Mordecai asked, brightening.

"_I _say it's a trap." Methusael said. "Kani, I urge you not to go. We don't know the full intentions of the rebels. We can't trust them. I highly doubt that they wish to talk about anything except your death."

"You don't know that they want to slay me." Kani pointed out.

"You don't know if they do, however."

"True. And normally, for situations such as this, I'd agree with you, Methusael, but there is one thing that changes everything about this." he held up the note. "Our visitor from last night, young Mathoni, wrote and signed this message on the behalf of the rebels. He trusts them, and I have no reason to distrust him, so I think it will be safe."

"I believe Master Kani is correct, if I may say so." Mordecai voiced his opinion, "This would be an excellent chance to sit down with the rebels and work out what the problems are. Then we can actually resolve some of Angola's most urgent issues and have peace once again."

"Exactly my point." Methusael pressed. "It's too good to be true. The rebels have never wanted peace talks before, so why now? It's certainly not because we've done something to threaten them. If anything, _they're _threatening _us_. No, there is far too much about this that simply does not add up."

"Seeing that Mathoni is with them now, maybe he managed to talk some sense into them." Kani reasoned.

"Maybe _they _convinced Mathoni to join _them_, and he's just helping them pull off their little trap."

"Methusael, I know there's a risk to this, but if it means peace, it's a risk I'm willing to take. Now look, I'll play it safe. I'll go cautiously, and bring a guard with. I'll even allow you to select one from the royal guard. Now, would that satisfy you?"

"No, I would rather you stay here, where it's safe." Methusael snorted.

"I believe Master Kani has made his choice, regardless of what you want, Master Methusael." Mordecai remarked. "Besides, I support his lordship's decision."

"Nobody asked you, servant." Methusael stated bitterly.

"That's _enough,_ from both of you." Kani interrupted. "Now Methusael, do you have any proof that indicates that the rebels might be planning a trap?"

Methusael made a frown. "Not very." he admitted. "The message was only found because it was tied to an arrow that was fired from afar at the patrol, and it didn't come close to hitting any living targets. Upon reading it, part of the patrol went to deliver message here while the rest went to search for the archer who fired the arrow, but nothing was to be found."

"Sounds to me that the rebels really do have peaceful intentions behind this, and aren't looking to cause trouble."

"I still would rather you stay here, Kani." Methusael continued to press.

"I'm sorry, Methusael, but I've made up my mind." Kani said, shaking his head. "I simply cannot pass up the chance to resolve our issues here in Angola once and for all. I understand the risk involved, and I'm willing to face it. So there is nothing left to argue. I will meet with the rebels as requested at the time and place they propose this afternoon."

* * *

Later that day, Kani stood in the entry hall, dressed and ready to head out for the meeting. Methusael had requested that he arm himself with something, but he refused. He wanted a feeling of peace to be generated during this meeting, and he felt arming himself would ruin the attitude. However, Kani knew it would be only him that would go unarmed. The guard Methusael was to choose and had yet to arrive with would need to be armed, otherwise he would be of little good to protect himself and his charge.

Pacing, Kani waited for Methusael to arrive with the selected guard, a little on edge. This _was _going to be his first peace talk as lord of Angola, and he didn't want to mess it up. He felt he was prepared, and had little worry about, but worry he did anyway. When he heard footpaws padding against the staircase behind him, and that they weren't heavy enough to Methusael's, Kani turned gratefully to face Mordecai, who would be returning from a little chore he had been sent on.

"Good, Mordecai, you got the blank parchments and sticks of charcoal I asked for?" he asked as he turned.

He saw Mordecai approaching like he knew and saw that the servant fox carried a satchel with the materials that had been requested, but Mordecai wasn't alone.

"Adah!" Kani said in surprise, as the vixen walked up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd see you off, for one thing, your lordship." Adah said, nodding her head at him. "But also, I wanted to try and see if I could talk you out of this."

"Not too fond of this meeting, either, are you?" Kani asked, as he allowed Mordecai to place the satchel on his shoulder for him.

"No, I'm not." Adah said. "Kani...I understand your intentions about this, but do you really think it's wise for the lord of the land to go on this meeting? Can't you just send a representative or some creature such as that instead?"

"They specifically asked for me, Adah, I don't think they'd meet with anyone else." Kani said, taking Adah by the shoulders. "And I know the dangers. And as I told Methusael, I'm willing to risk it. This meeting could mean the difference between peace and war in Angola. I'm not going to pass up this chance." he paused, studying the vixen's face for a moment. "Do you understand?"

Adah paused for a moment, then nodded. "I understand, Kani." she said. "I'm just...I don't know...I suppose I'm...worried."

"Worried that I might come back hurt?"

"Worried that you might not come back at all."

Kani gave her a look. "It won't come to that, that's why I'll have the guard." he assured her. "Besides, I have no intention to die anytime soon. I'm needed here, in Angola, no matter what problems it faces."

Adah grinned. "I see you're finally warming up to the idea of being lord." she commented, wrapping her arms around Kani's neck.

"Only because I have to." Kani pressed, removing her arms and taking her paws to hold. "I still don't think I'm ready for this kind of responsibility."

"Well, no matter what you think, I think you'd make a great lord." Adah said, still grinning.

She then leaned over and kissed Kani on the cheek. Kani was caught off guard by the move, but did not object to it, and made a kind of foolish grin of pleasure after Adah pulled away.

"Ahem."

Kani looked up the staircase and saw Methusael standing there along with the guard he had selected, and blushed. Adah quickly backed away, looking a touch ashamed. Mordecai made no apparent motion to move from where he stood beside Kani, ready for orders, but the sides of his mouth did twitch as he suppressed a grin. Methusael acted like he hadn't seen the event as he walked down the staircase to join them, the selected guard following. He was a tall and strong, middle-aged, veteran member of the royal guard that Kani knew had served well over the seasons, although the creature's name alluded Kani at the moment. Armed with the usual standard wooden stave, dagger, and sword, he stepped beside Kani and snapped to attention, awaiting commands.

Methusael nodded his head at the fox. "I selected a guard as you requested, milord." he said politely. "I hope it suits your needs."

"Yes, this will do, Methusael, thank you." Kani said, double-checking to make sure that he had everything. "I suppose I have everything now, and it's nearly time for this meeting to begin, so I had better be off."

"I suppose, then, that I still can't talk you out of this." Methusael said flatly.

"No, Methusael, I made my choice, and I'm sticking with it." Kani said. He placed a paw on Methusael's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "But don't worry. You'll see. Nothing will go wrong, and I'll be back here safe and sound in time for supper, hopefully with the beginnings of a more peaceful Angola to present."

"Yes, milord." Methusael said, nodding, then took a step back to watch Kani and his bodyguard leave. "Any final orders before you depart?"

"Not very, other than the fact that you'll be in charge while I'm away, Methusael." Kani said. "I'm not expecting any trouble while I'm gone, but I trust you'll keep every creature in Midnight Castle safe on the slim chance that everything _does _go wrong."

"Of course you can trust me, Kani, I would be hurt if you didn't." Methusael said, looking genuinely hurt by the thought that Kani might not trust him.

Kani half-grinned. "Of course I can." he agreed, then turned to the door. "Okay, let's get this over with, then."

The doors were opened long enough to allow Kani and his silent guard to head out, and then were promptly closed behind him. Adah, Mordecai, and Methusael stayed long enough to watch Kani depart, before Mordecai nodded to the others.

"I have other responsibilities to attend to." he said, turning to leave. He nodded his head in farewell to each creature in turn. "Master Methusael, Mistress Adah."

"I suppose I have other things I should be doing as well, rather than standing here, worrying." Adah said, turning to head back up the staircase.

Methusael followed her closely, waiting until they were out of hearing range of any nearby creatures before speaking. "Adah, do you really see it wise to be getting so close to his lordship?" he asked innocently.

Adah was silent for a moment, and shrugged. She didn't have anything to say in reply.

"Merely something for you to consider." Methusael said. "You know I have no problems with it, but Kani has things he needs to be paying attention to, and not you. I merely ask that you be careful."

And with that, he walked off, leaving Adah to consider what he said.

* * *

Mathoni peered in-between the trees and onto the narrow path, seeing two creatures head their way. At this angle, he couldn't tell who it was, but he knew they were foxes, telling him who it could only be from just that.

"'ere they come, mate." he whispered urgently, turning to his compatriot. "Ye ready?"

Neph stood beside him, dressed in uniform, fidgeting with hilt of his dagger as his picked up the bow where it was leaning against a tree trunk. He nodded nervously. "As ready as I'll ever be." he said, then bit back a sigh. "Why did I have to do this?" he asked himself aloud. "Why not Moroni? He'd be much better at this whole explaining and delegating thing than I ever would."

"Ye know why, mate, Moroni didn't want t' risk it, in case this all ends badly." Mathoni said, watching the two foxes approach again. "He still needs t' be around t' lead yore liddle lot of rebels; ye can't afford t' lose 'im, for wotever reasons. 'Sides, ye should really be flattered. Clearly, he thought ye t' be th' next best creature t' do this. Now shush, 'ere they come."

Sure enough, Kani and his one guard where walking down the narrow path that led out of Angola and into the surrounding woods. They stopped about halfway down the path and looked around, clearly wondering where the creatures they were supposed to be meeting were at. Mathoni looked to Neph for confirmation, who nodded, placed an arrow on his bow, but did not pull it back, and stepped out onto the path before Kani and his bodyguard.

Kani and the bodyguard both stiffened slightly, the guard tightening his grip on his stave. They both relaxed slightly, Kani more than his guard, when Mathoni stepped out onto the path behind Neph.

"Lord Kani, glad ye came like I requested." Mathoni greeted politely.

"Mathoni, good to see you again, and safe as well." Kani replied, nodding his head at the young otter. He glanced at Neph slightly. "I trust the rebels aren't causing you trouble?"

"Oh no, they've actually been rather nice t' me." Mathoni assured him. "'Cept for th' part where they knocked me unconscious an' kidnaped me, but I see why they did it now."

"Oh, and why is that?" Kani asked, curious.

"First off, they ain't as bad as ye think." Mathoni said. "They may be rebels, but they 'aven't caused ye much 'arm. In fact, in th' long run, they're really on th' same side as ye."

"Okay, but I know of several creatures back at the castle who would disagree." Kani said.

"That's why we're 'avin' this meetin' t' try an' convince ye otherwise." Mathoni replied. "We've got a few real clinchers for ye t' chew on."

"So what are these...'clinchers?'"

"For starters, we have reason to believe that there is somebody within Midnight Castle that is conspiring against you." Neph said. "And that whomever it is, they probably intend to kill you."

Kani went very still, and was silent for a moment. "Would this conspirator be the same creature that killed my brother and my mother?" he asked.

Neph nodded. "There is little reason to doubt it." he said. "Clearly, he or she intends to kill off the royal family, and take charge."

Kani continued to be still and mostly silent. A very serious expression now creased his brow. "Who?" he asked finally. "You give me names, and I'll investigate and end this matter here and now."

Mathoni and Neph exchanged glances.

"We were hoping you could tell us who could be conspiring against you." Neph said.

"Besides, yore lordship, I dunno if this killer would let ye live long enough t' carry out an investigation." Mathoni pointed out.

Kani couldn't deny that fact, but he still knew that wasn't going to be enough. "Okay, did you have anything else you wanted to tell me?" he asked. "For starters, I _was _hoping we would talk peace, and not more death and destruction."

"Well, we could at least clear our name." Neph offered. "The two patrols that were viciously attacked? That wasn't done by us rebels."

"They don't know who did, though." Mathoni added quickly, before Kani could ask.

"I knew it, I knew you weren't vicious enough to do it." Kani said, clearly pleased. He paused. "But then, this means that there's another, unknown, enemy out there somewhere we don't know about."

"Or at least very little." Neph agreed.

"This still doesn't help matters." Kani said. "Not that I don't trust you, but this isn't much proof. You are going to get very few creatures believing you about this."

"At the moment, that wasn't so much the goal." Neph said. "We needed to tell somebeast what we knew, but it couldn't just be anybody. We didn't know who to trust anymore."

"'cept you, Lord Kani." Mathoni said politely.

"Well, I'm flattered." Kani said. "But just because I'm lord, doesn't mean that convincing me will resolve everything."

"We aren't saying that it will." Neph said. "We just need help. You seemed like the best creature to start with."

"Okay, fine." Kani said, waving his paws in a finalizing manner. "It's a start. Now we need to..."

He got no further when an arrow suddenly whizzed out of nowhere and hit Kani's bodyguard square in the heart. With a gurgle, the guard fell to the ground and was dead within moments. Shocked at how sudden it was, Mathoni stared at the dead creature laying before them. Kani did likewise for a moment, then traced the path of the arrow to the shooter hidden in the surrounding woodlands. Neph did all of the above, plus readying his bow and arrow for shooting. The moment he lined up a shot, the mouse let the arrow fly.

The sniper saw the oncoming attack too quickly, however, and quickly ducked behind a tree to avoid the arrow. In doing so, the sniper revealed his or her species, outlined nicely in the afternoon light shining through the canopy of leaves.

The sniper was a rat.

Kani was shocked. What were _rats _doing in Angola?

The thought was no sooner thunk than when Mathoni looked up from the body of the fallen guard in time for the otter's eyes to go wide as they focused in on something behind Kani.

"Yore lordship, LOOK OUT!" he yelled, throwing himself into Kani and knocking the fox and himself down to the ground.

Before they had even hit the ground. Kani felt another arrow, this one shot from a different direction, whizz dangerously past his ear before embedding itself in a tree. Realizing there was more than one sniper present, Neph also dropped to the ground while also pulling out another arrow. Following the path of the second arrow like he did with the first, the mouse lined up a shot and fired the arrow at the seconds sniper, this one a ferret. Like the rat, the ferret sniper merely dodged it.

"Ye believe us now, yore lordship?" Mathoni asked Kani, both of them still lying on the ground.

"Every word!" Kani replied, feeling a chill run through his body as he realized he had very nearly been murdered.

Neph drew another arrow, and waited for either sniper to pop back out of hiding again. But they never did. His eyes narrowed in response, and he nudged Mathoni with a footpaw.

"C'mon, we need to get you both out of here while there's still a chance." he urged.

"Think we scared them off, mate?" Mathoni asked, as the three, crouching low, hurried back up the path to the shelter of the village of Angola.

"Hardly." Neph replied, shaking his head. "They're skilled snipers, whomever they are. I think they're just changing positions, so that they can try sniping again. For _all _of our safety, we need to get to safety _now_. Your lordship, you're the main target, but just so they can keep their secrets safe, that ferret and rat are going to try and slay _all _of us."

"But who would _arrange _this?" Kani demanded, panicked, and his nerves on edge.

"That's the mystery, your lordship, now shush, it's better that you don't speak." Neph replied, taking charge of the situation.

They scampered off, but Kani paused long enough to look back at the fallen guard they were leaving behind, feeling a pang of sadness and guilt for the guard's loss of life. But then the fear he was feeling for his own life was predominating...


	19. Chapter 18

Dramatic chapter today. Kani is shocked. Creatures try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Blackwing follows the jackdaw to it's destination and back, and the final piece to the puzzle is revealed...but you'll only find out what it is if you read the chapter, so read the chapter! :p A Redwall-centric dramatic chapter is planned for next week, too, so the fun's just beginning. ;)

Chapter 18

Once safely back inside Angola, Kani, Mathoni, and Neph all relaxed somewhat, and straightened back up to their full height. Though still tense and alert, hurrying to head deeper into the safety of the village, they all felt much safer here than exposed out in the woodlands. As such, they began to reflect upon what had just happened.

"What's _vermin _doing in Angola?" Kani asked, still nervous as he looked around the relatively empty streets of the village, mice giving the threesome curious glances as they hurried past.

"Funny thing t' hear comin' from ye, yore lordship." Mathoni remarked.

"I have no clue, but clearly, they had planned on killing you, your lordship." Neph said, answering Kani's question.

"Well, I know _that_," Kani snapped, a little on edge, "But _why_, what do they want?"

"I don't know, your lordship, but the thing to do now is to get you back to the castle, where you are completely protected." Neph said, fingering his bow as he kept an arrow placed on it. "At this point, I wouldn't even trust the village to keep you safe."

"Those snipers wouldn't dare follow us in 'ere, would they?" Mathoni asked.

Neph paused. "No, probably not, but I'm not going to take any chances." he stated.

"If these creatures, whatever it is that they're planning, have been keeping it secret for so long, then they can't possibly be stupid enough to risk it all just trying to kill me." Kani reasoned, sounding hopeful.

"But then, they've got liddle t' loose." Mathoni pointed out, thinking things through. "They _know _that you _know _that they plan t' kill ye, an' if they let ye live, th' game's up for 'em."

"But if they blow their cover in front of all these creatures that are watching..." Kani retorted, pointing to all of the mice gathered in the street, their numbers growing as more and more came to watch the curious threesome hurry through, "...then _they _all would know, too."

"But you're also the last living member of the royal family, your lordship." Neph said, suddenly realizing something. "If they kill you, then they don't have to worry at all any more. Their mission's accomplished, and whoever's behind all of this can then take over."

Kani shot him a surprised glance, not having thought of this himself. "Take over?" he repeated.

"That's wot it all boils down to, ain't it?" Mathoni pointed out. "Somebeast wants ye out of th' way, Lord Kani, an' they're willin' t' stop at nothin' t' do it."

"But _who_?" Kani pressed, stopping suddenly. "Who wants me dead?"

Both Mathoni and Neph planned on replying that they simply didn't know, like they had said before. If they had done so, it was quite likely they would've said it at the same exact time. But they didn't. When Kani paused, they also both paused, turning back to look at the fox. This action ended up saving their lives, for the moment Kani had finished speaking, an arrow shot out from somewhere and sliced right under Kani's chin before embedding itself in a nearby cart. If Kani hadn't stopped, the arrow would've hit his throat and he would've been dead now.

Several things then happened at once. With a gasp, his eyes growing wide, Kani slapped a paw to the underside of his chin, which was bleeding freely. With alarm, Mathoni threw himself on the fox and knocked them both to the ground in case more arrows where fired. A scream suddenly rang out from within the crowd that had gathered, as they all instinctively ducked down to shield themselves from anymore fired arrows.

Neph was the only one present with a weapon of any sort. Like with the two snipers back in the woods, he followed the path of the fired arrow back to the source, and prepared to fire an arrow back at the sniper. But he didn't. The third sniper, a weasel, different from the first two that they saw, knew that his fired arrow had missed, and quickly ducked away before Neph could line up a good shot. Disgruntled, he lowered his bow, and turned his attention back to those gathered in the street.

Panic had broken loose. The creatures who had gathered to watch the three passing through were now rapidly scattering again for fear of being shot. Some backed off to what they considered to be a safe distance and remained to continue watching to see what would happen next, others were looking wildly upward for the sniper they knew was somewhere. A rare few hurried forward to try and make sure Kani was alright, but Mathoni wisely kept them back, to keep them from crowding Kani.

Kani, himself, lay on the ground motionless, alive, but seemed to be too stunned at the fact he came so close to dying to move. He pressed a paw tightly against his chin where he had been wounded. Mathoni kept trying to urge him to move the paw so he could see the wound, but Kani was unresponsive. Finally, Mathoni forcibly pulled the paw away long enough to get a look at the wound. It was a mere narrow cut on the underside of the fox's chin, and wasn't very deep. Neph glanced at it.

"Looks like he was merely grazed." the mouse noted.

Mathoni nodded, and released Kani's paw. It quickly and automatically snapped back to cover the wound.

"Guess our question got answered." he remarked, sitting back on his haunches. "Those vermin really were willin' t' blow their cover just t' slay Kani."

"We can scratch it from the list, then." Neph said, looking around nervously. "I'm more worried about what those snipers will try next. It's not safe enough to take Lord Kani all the way back to the castle. He could be shot dead long before he got there. Besides..." he looked down at the nearly senseless fox, "...I doubt he's in any condition to try it."

"So where do we go _now_?" Mathoni asked, looking up at the mouse, slightly annoyed.

Neph bit his lip for a moment in thought. "Let's take him to my house, it's just around the corner." he said. "We can treat his lordship there, calm him down, and then wait for this all to blow and figure out a way to get him back to Midnight Castle safely, and alive still."

"Presumin' that somethin' else doesn't go wrong." Mathoni said negatively as he helped Neph pick Kani up. "Let's go."

* * *

The jackdaw had a long way to travel, apparently, for the sun was beginning to set, and it was still in the process of flying to its destination. Following behind it from a safe and undetectable distance was Blackwing, wondering where this bird was heading, and what was on the message it was to deliver. Who also crossed the sparrow's mind, but Blackwing merely figured vermin, and left it at that, even though that conclusion didn't fit in with the facts.

They had flown very far to the northwest, out to the borders of Mossflower woods. Rarely had Blackwing had ever flown so far in this one direction. It was common fact among the sparrows that the northlands housed little but ruthless vermin that would no sooner kill a sparrow than look at it, or so the legends were told within the Sparra Kingdom at Redwall. This was proof enough for Blackwing that the jackdaw was going to meet up with more vermin.

So he was surprised when the jackdaw led him to a location that didn't seem at all like a place to house vermin. The structure, built out of red sandstone like Redwall, appeared to be alike to the main building of Redwall, only it was missing a wing, and no adjoining belltower. What remained was a structure slightly shorter with an intricate entrance made from a tall, multi-story, stone patio supported by thick columns. Half of the structure also seemed to be embedded into a tall cliff that sat immediately behind it, or, more likely, was carved out of the cliff. Blackwing suspected there was much more of this structure that was built right into the cliff with tunnels and the such.

The jackdaw flew up to a perch on one of the structure's few windows and began pecking at the glass. Blackwing perched in a neighboring tree to watch from a safe distance. Before long, a creature appeared at the window, opening it. It was an otter, dressed like the mouse at Redwall and likewise carried a staff. She even seemed to behave in a similar manner as the mouse. Carefully, the otter removed the message tied to the jackdaw's leg, and then turned around and walked back into the building, to read it and possibly compose a reply. The jackdaw waited in the meantime.

Blackwing waited impatiently, wishing he could do something to learn more about what was happening. Maybe if he was closer...but he didn't move a muscle, knowing that he ran the risk of being seen if he moved closer. For now, the sparrow decided to be satisfied with watching from afar.

Eventually, the otter returned to the window with a new message, a response of some sort, and tied it to the jackdaw's leg before closing the window. The jackdaw didn't wait to rest, as the bird was no doubt tired by this point, and flapped back into the sky, heading back in the direction of Redwall. Blackwing followed, getting ever more curious in the process...

* * *

As night fell over Angola, it found that the village was tense. Word of what had happened in its center spread quickly, but nobody really knew all of the details yet. Creatures were wandering everywhere speculating, many only getting further from the truth. Even the nightly patrols seemed stunned by recent events, for their numbers were fewer, and most were simply standing around gossiping and guessing rather than doing their job.

Moroni didn't mind has he headed for Neph's cottage house, hidden in a dark cloak. It merely meant that he didn't have to worry so much about being seen by them. It was, in fact, other creatures that he was worried about. Creatures he knew were out there, but knew next to nothing about.

Looking around ever so cautiously, Moroni arrived at the door of Neph's cottage and politely rapped on the door with his paw. Neph opened the door almost instantly; he was probably standing around waiting for Moroni to arrive. Looking around to make sure the coast was indeed clear, Neph held the door open for Moroni to enter through, and then promptly shut it and bolted it again.

Inside the cottage in addition to Neph was Mathoni and Sister Daisy, who were sitting at a table sipping a drink that had been prepared. They looked on edge, but otherwise calm.

"Hello Neph, I came as soon as I got your message." Moroni said, shedding his cloak and allowing Neph to take it to hang on a coatrack. "I almost didn't need to. Word of this has spread like wildfire, which is both a blessing and curse at the same time." he sighed, rubbing his paws together absentmindedly, and turned to Sister Daisy. "How is he?" he asked.

"Physically, just fine." the healer said flatly, setting down her cup and staring into it. "I treated the wound and bandaged it as needed, merely to stop the bleeding. He can probably remove it on the morrow. Mentally, however..." she shrugged. "It's too soon to say. But his lordship has taken a rather nasty shock from all of this. Coming so close to dying, twice, in one day, is a lot for one creature to handle."

"An' then there was witnessin' th' death of that 'un guard that was with his lordship." Mathoni added, also setting down his drink and gazing vacantly into it. "Poor creature. That alone shook meself pretty bad, t' be honest." he was silent for a moment. "Never seen a creature die like that before."

"The memory of seeing a creature be murdered in cold blood is, indeed, a very hard thing to live with." Sister Daisy agreed. "Unfortunately, that's the least of Lord Kani's problems."

"He isn't still too shocked to move, is he?" Moroni asked, worried. "Not like how Neph described in his message, is he?"

"No, he's gotten over that." Sister Daisy assured him quickly, waving a dismissive paw. "He's up on his footpaws and wandering about now, thank the seasons. But he's very agitated. He acts angry, but he's really scared witless, jumping at anything that merely moves. He tried to attack me when he first saw me. Fortunately Neph and young Mathoni here were there to hold him back and calm him, and no harm was done, but..." she shook her head. "I worry for him. He's been through enough as it is; he doesn't need this to add to the stress. It's a miracle his mind hasn't snapped already."

"Why, though?" Moroni asked, not understanding. "He's safe now, and with friends. You'd think that would calm him down."

"Look at it from his eyes, Moroni." Neph explained, having already asked Sister Daisy the same question and thus knew the answer. "He's in a strange home with strange creatures he hardly knows. He's learned that there are creatures out there bent on killing him, and nearly had his life taken from him not once, but twice within the space of a few moments. He's nowhere near home, and can't go back without severely jeopardizing his life. I would feel rather agitated after dealing with that lot of problems. Wouldn't you?"

Moroni nodded. "I see your point." he looked around. "Where is his lordship, anyway?" he asked.

"In th' cellar." Mathoni said, jerking his head at the closed trapdoor in the floor. "We all agreed it would probably be best for 'im t' be down there, out of sight an' away from any immediate danger. He didn't like it, but we did it anyway."

"I'm also worried those snipers might have tried to shoot him through a window or something, too." Neph said, looking leerily around. "You didn't see these creatures in action, Moroni, they're skilledbeasts, excellent archers and snipers. They knew what they were doing, and they got the drop on us three times. We were _all _lucky to escape that with our lives."

"What are vermin doing in Angola, anyway?" Moroni asked. "They haven't taken interest in us in many generations!"

"Very true." Sister Daisy agreed. "The last recorded conflict with them was before I was born."

"How many do ye think there are, anyway?" Mathoni asked. "A whole 'orde of 'em 'idden away somewhere?"

"No, no, not likely." Neph said. "I've been giving this matter a lot of thought. There can't be that many. If it was a large horde, we would've found evidence of them by now. In fact, the smaller the group, the more likely it is. The three we saw today may in fact be all there are."

"So you're saying that a mere three creatures helped bring about all of this turmoil within Angola?" Sister Daisy asked skeptically.

"Under the orders of someone else, of course." Neph said. "I reckon they're mercenaries. Hired paws who merely carry out the orders of their employer. They would only be in this for the money, then."

"So th' question is, who's th' employer?" Mathoni asked.

Moroni was silent for a moment. "There's another downside to this." he stated. "Neph, you said these vermin are skilled creatures. Could they be skilled enough to slay three patrol creatures and severely wound another?"

"You mean that battle on the village's borders that we got blamed for?" Neph asked. When Moroni nodded, he gave the matter some thought. He shook his head at the result. "It's the only way things would add up, I must admit."

"And they would've been ordered to do it." Moroni added gravely.

"So the blame for all of this boils back down to the conspirator we know is out there somewhere." Sister Daisy summarized.

"Th' sooner ye figure out who, th' better." Mathoni stated.

"Agreed." Moroni said with a nod. "Therefore, we need more clues, which is why I'm here. I need to speak with his lordship."

The others did not object to it. Mathoni rose and opened the cellar door for Moroni, who climbed through without hesitation, closing the door behind him. Inside, Kani was up and pacing the cellar floor. A tray of food sat untouched nearby. He looked up when Moroni entered and regarded the mouse silently for a few moments with narrowed eyes.

"Your lordship," Moroni greeted, bowing slightly, "I trust you recognize me? I'm Captain Moroni of the Angola Militia."

Kani nodded, and resumed pacing. "I presume you're the one leading the rebels, then." he stated as a matter-of-fact.

Moroni decided there was no point in denying it any longer, and nodded. "That's correct, your lordship, and I apologize." he said. "If I had known where things would be led because of it..."

"None of this is your fault, captain." Kani interrupted. "We all fell for this. If anybody's to blame, it's me, for not seeing it far sooner."

"I don't know if that would've helped our situation any, your lordship."

"Enough with the titles, Moroni, they're pretty much meaningless now."

"You are still the lord of Angola, your lordship."

"Hardly. It's pretty much in the paws of some other creature now. Stolen right out from under my snout. And I_ let _it happen, curse the seasons!" Kani kicked the tray suddenly, scattered the food set upon and quickly went into a frenzy of rage. "I don't deserve to be the lord of anything! I _let _this befall my lands! I brought this _all _upon the creatures I'm supposed to protect! I...I...I...curses!"

He stomped his footpaws angrily for a few moments, let out a heavy sigh, then sank to the floor and was suddenly weeping. Moroni watched him, unsure how he should react. Kani continued to weep.

"How many creatures of died because of me...who didn't have to?" he asked aloud. "The guard? The members of those two patrols that were attacked and killed? Hax? My mother? Ohhh!" he let out a wail suddenly. "I wish they had killed me. I wish they had, Moroni. Then I could've been done with this! I could've left this all behind and...and...and be with my family again."

He resumed weeping, but was in better control of it now. Moroni let him for a few moments, then calmly stepped over and knelt down and placed a comforting paw on the weeping lord's shoulder.

"Your lordship, I for one am very glad you still live." he said simply. "Angola still needs your help and leadership. We still need your help." a pause. "_I _still need your help."

"I fail to see how." Kani said, sniffling. "All I've done is make things worse."

"You didn't see what was happening at the time." Moroni pointed out. "None of us did. But now we do. And you're the _best _creature to help us figure out what has happened and who's behind it all. Now..." he changed positions so that he was sitting cross-legged next to Kani, "...can you think of any creatures who could possibly want to do this, and would be in any position to do it?"

Kani thought for a long moment, wiping his eyes with one paw. "Something of this magnitude had to have been noticed by somebeast." he reasoned. "Not a lot, but enough to suspect something. Whomever is behind all of this needs to have enough authority to keep creatures like that silent and out of the way, without drawing suspicion to himself. Somebeast who can shut a beast up without anybody ever questioning him, put bluntly."

"Good, that's something we can start with and build off of." Moroni said encouragingly. "Now, who would have that kind of authority?"

Kani was silent for a moment as he thought about it. Then he suddenly stiffened as he realized the answer.

"There can only be one creature." he stated, his eyes going wide slightly as he realized just how massively he had been betrayed...

* * *

Night had long fallen by the time the jackdaw returned to Redwall. Perching on the roof of the gatehouse cottage to watch from afar, Blackwing watched as the teacher appeared at the window, took the message from the jackdaw (who promptly flew off again once this was done), and read it. Emotionlessly, the mouse then set the message down, took his staff and left. Puzzled, Blackwing looked at the window for a long moment, then threw caution to the wind finally, and flew to the window.

The dormitory turned out to be empty. The teacher must have left out to carry out whatever it was that he needed to do. Which, Blackwing reasoned to himself, must have been instructed in the message. It still sat on the windowsill. Blackwing hopped around it a few times, looking at the symbols written upon it. He couldn't read, though, and didn't have any ideas what it could possibly say.

But Blackwing knew what creatures could read. And there happened to be several of them here in the abbey. Taking the message in his talons, he flew off again, searching for a Redwaller, any Redwaller, who could read.

Because it had to be that important.

* * *

When Mordecai entered the study as requested, he found Methusael standing behind the desk, looking out the window at the night outside. Feeling a sense of unease, Mordecai approached the desk and stood at attention before it.

"Master Methusael?" he asked politely.

"Yes, Mordecai?" Methusael replied, not turning around to face the servant. "What is it?"

"A member of the royal guard arrived at the gates not that long ago, sir. They came to report a rumor that has been going around the rumor that a sniper attempted to shoot Kani, and that his exact origins are unknown. Angola is currently in a panic as a result."

Methusael was silent for a moment. "Can he confirm this?"

"No, he claims he was not present."

"Interesting."

Mordecai gave Methusael a puzzled look. "Sir?"

Methusael glanced at Mordecai briefly. "Kani's overdue to return, isn't he?"

"Yes, Master Kani is overdue, sir." Mordecai replied with a furrowed brow. "To be honest, I am beginning to worry if the guard was not right, and that something happened to him. He did not intend to be gone for so long."

"So he did."

"Should we begin sending out searching parties for him?"

Methusael was silent for a long moment, then finally turned to face the fox. "I actually have a better idea." he said, raising a claw as if to make a point. "I would not worry about Kani anyway. He's a resourceful creature. Whatever trouble he's gotten himself into, if he's in trouble at all, he can quickly escape from."

"Perhaps so, Master Methusael, but do you _really _find it wise to leave such things to chance?" Mordecai asked, a little harsh. "Especially when his lordship's life is in danger?"

"He knew the risks. I warned him as such."

"Regardless, he could need the help. You, as acting lord, should provide it."

Methusael snorted. "The royal guard is already out on other chores." he pointed out. "On Kani's orders. I can't spare any of those creatures without his authorization."

"I'm sure Master Kani would understand, sir."

Methusael was quiet for another long moment. "Mordecai, I notice you don't refer to Kani by his proper title as lord." he said calmly. "Why?"

Mordecai hesitated. "Does...this really have something to do with the matter at hand, sir?" he asked cautiously.

"Just humor me, please, Mordecai."

The servant still hesitated a moment longer. "I do it at Master Kani's request, sir." he said. "He does not like his title. He..." another pause, "...he feels that...he is an...inadequate lord of Angola."

"He is the next in line for the throne." Methusael pointed out. "He is the _only _one in line for the throne."

"He is the only surviving member of the Fennix family, yes sir." Mordecai agreed. "That is, unless, Master Kani goes on to raise an heir, or he has an unknown relative."

Methusael nodded in understanding. "Mordecai, did you know that once, many seasons ago, my family line, the Redd family, was once the royal family?"

Mordecai blinked in surprise. "No, Master Methusael, I did not know that." he admitted. "I presume they lost that status through marriage?"

"Yes, one of my relatives, a great-great-great aunt I believe, married one of Kani's relatives many seasons back. His family name overruled hers in the process, and the Fennix family became the royal family, according to our laws, at least."

"That would actually explain a fair bit, and why the Redd family has served so closely to the lord and lady of Angola."

"Correct, that relative of mine, as lady, selected another Redd to be her second-in-command, a tradition that has carried on through to today, with me."

"Very interesting, Master Methusael, but I must ask, what does it have to do with anything?"

Methusael gave the servant fox a look that could not be readily interpreted. "Every tradition must come to an end, eventually, Mordecai." he said cryptically.

Mordecai gave him a suspicious look. "Master Methusael..."

"Mordecai, what family are you loyal to?"

"The Fennix family."

"Well, I have news for you. The last living member of that family is gone."

"What?"

"The rumors you heard are absolutely right."

"No."

"Kani isn't coming back to this castle."

"No!"

"I can confirm it, Mordecai."

"But he's not dead! You just said so by confirming the truth of the rumors, which explicitly state he survived! Master Kani will try to come back into the castle eventually!"

"Maybe so, but if he's smart he wouldn't dare try." Methusael said, grinning. "Because I won't let him in."

Mordecai's eyes went wide. "Traitor." he said numbly, in shock. "Traitor!"

"Correction," Methusael said, advancing on the servant fox, "your lordship."

He then backhanded Mordecai, sending the fox reeling backward into a cabinet, banging his head hard against it, and falling to the floor. Methusael stepped over him and threw open the study door and drew the attention of the nearest worker.

"Recall the royal guard, effective immediately." he ordered. "I have new orders for them."


	20. Chapter 19

Redwall-centric chapter, revealing the teacher's new orders, and he of course, carries them out to the letter. Mostly action, but some off-the-wall humor thrown in at random times, probably all of them the worst of times, but still...it's humor. :p I was also going to include parts describing what Methusael's up to in Angolia, but ran out of space. Now I'll probably have to dedicate the next chapter to that (which might actually be a good thing) with the next chapter after that focusing on Kani, and we'll move on from there. :)

Chapter 19

Gratefully, Malachi dipped his hot and sore footpaws into the cool water of the abbey pound. At first, he inhaled sharply at the sudden chill, but quickly relaxed with a sigh of relief.

"That's better." he remarked, leaning back slightly to relax. "Standin' in that bloomin' kitchen all day does all sorts of havov t' your feet, dontcha know. 'Tis always nice when you get a chance t' just kick back an' relax after doin' that for the better part of the day."

Charles the mouse, who sat nearby to Malachi, remained silent, deciding against pointing out that he had stood in the kitchen working for much longer than Malachi, and his footpaws felt just fine. Malachi seemed to have thought of this fact on his own, however, because he gave Charles a thoughtful look after a moment, pulling at one of his whiskers.

"'Course, that doesn't include you, Charles, you were _made _t' stand in that kitchen." the hare added with a grin. It didn't last long before it faded with another sigh. "Too bad it'll most likely be me who gets the blasted job an' not you. You'd be better at it than I am, but..." he trailed off for a moment. "...Father will never see, that , nor will he support it. He wants me t' be a cook like him, an' be good at it, which we all know that I'm not. Wish Father would see that."

He made one last sigh. "Ah well, I guess for now I'll just have t' live with it, eh wot?" he elbowed Charles playfully. "Thanks Charles, you're a good friend."

Charles regarded his hare friend with a puzzled look. "But I didn't say anything." he commented quietly.

"Exactly. You're a jolly good listener. That part of the reason I like ya so much." Malachi said, grinning.

They continued to sit there for a few moments longer, with Malachi cooling his footpaws in the pond water, the two looking upward at the night sky. Finally, Malachi pulled his paws from the water and shook water from them.

"C'mon, it's gettin' late." he said, standing up with a stretch. "Should probably be headin' t' bed so we can get up bright an' early in th' mornin' t'..."

He got no further when, in a sudden flurry of feathers, a sparrow crashed into him from behind. With a yelp, Malachi toppled backwards into the pond with a splash. The sparrow would've fallen in as well, had Charles not quickly jumped up and seized the bird and pulled it to the ground. The sparrow resisted for a moment, but then suddenly froze as if in terror. Meanwhile, Malachi surfaced again, shuddering as he spouted water from his mouth.

"Brr! That's cold!" he muttered, heading for shore. He gave the sparrow a glare. "Just wot were you thinkin' bird, crashin' into innocent creatures like that an' knockin' 'em into freezin' water!"

The sparrow, Blackwing, didn't answer right away, for he was quite suddenly too frightened to speak to the creatures at all. The only Redwaller Blackwing had ever conversed with to any great lengths (or for any length at all, for that matter) was Mathoni, and that was under special circumstances and because Blackwing considered Mathoni an exception to the rules. To be truthful, Blackwing didn't trust any other Redwaller besides Mathoni. While the laws of the Sparra Kingdom never specifically stated why sparrows were encouraged to avoid the Redwallers, there were rumors. Probably one of the more graphic was the one that stated that Redwallers would eat you alive if they caught you. Blackwing never really believed it, particularly after meeting Mathoni, but now that he was face with two strange creatures, he wasn't so sure. Was that the hunger he could see in the hare's eyes?

Charles came to Blackwing's rescue by spying the note clasped in the sparrow's talons. "What's that?" he asked, bending down to take the note.

At first Blackwing wouldn't let him have it, but then remembered why he had the note in the first place and quickly released it. Charles then straightened up and began reading it, brow furrowed. Malachi, meanwhile, had clambered out of the pond and was shaking the excess water from his fur and clothing. Trying to knock water out of one ear, he came to stand at Charles's shoulder, and peered at the note.

"Wot's it say?" he asked, semi-curious. "Anythin' important?"

The look of shock Charles gave the young hare stated it was. Numbly, he handed over the note to Malachi to read, who skimmed over it. Then his eyes went wide.

"Great seasons!" he exclaimed, turning back to Charles. "We need t' jolly well tell somebody!"

"No time!" Charles said, hurrying across the grounds already. "We'll have to stop him ourselves!"

Malachi hesitated, not so such about that, but saw that Charles had a point. There really was no time. He started to chase after Charles, but then ground to a halt as an idea came to him and turned back to Blackwing.

"Bird!" he said to the sparrow. "Go to the belltower and start tollin' the bells as hard as you can! Don't stop until told otherwise, you got that?"

And then, without waiting for a reply, Malachi ran off. Blackwing stood there for a moment, feeling a touch lost, then snapped out of it and quickly took flight.

Ring the bells, he could do that, couldn't he?

* * *

The teacher had already exited the main building of Redwall and was beginning to cross the grounds at a leisurely, but steady, pace. It had been easy going so far, for most of the Redwallers were asleep now, or were close to it. Only a few stragglers remained, and most of them were out of the teacher's way, either hidden safely in their dormitories, or located in rooms he had not passed through during his exit. Only one creature had seen him thus far, and that creature simply ignored him.

This was all and good for the teacher. Perhaps he would be able to carry out his new orders with ease.

He was nearly at the gatehouse cottage when Charles was suddenly upon him, the usually docile mouse tackling the elder and bigger mouse from the side, trying to drag him down. The teacher struggled with Charles for a few moments, circling around aimlessly while Charles tried to wrap his claws around the teacher's throat. Finally, though, the teacher gained the leverage he needed and with strength that betrayed both his size, shape, and species, threw Charles from him and to the ground. Charles hit it hard, and rolled a few feet back towards the main building, but was quickly back on all fours, shaking the blow off.

The teacher resumed his original course, heading towards the ground entrance of the gatehouse cottage at an increased pace. Then, with a roar, Malachi arrived, ramming the mouse from a similar angle as Charles. This time, the teacher was more ready, and reacted quickly, grabbing Malachi by the paws and swinging him around once, twice, and then releasing. With a resounding crash, the young hare slammed into the wall of the cottage and sank into a heap, unconscious.

* * *

Upstairs, the sound of the crash awoke Linus with a start. Blearily, he sat up in bed, and looked around.

"What was that?" he asked sleepily, looking around with squinted, tired, eyes.

Aquila, who lay beside him, heard the crash as well, but merely rolled over into a more comfortable position.

"Probably just Alexander sneaking out of bed again." she mumbled. "I suppose somebeast should go round him up."

"Which I suppose is me." Linus noted with reluctance.

"You are up already."

"Physically, but not mentally." Linus said, as he sleepily got out of bed, yawning, slipping some slipper on his footpaws. "Keep the bed warm. I'll be right back."

"Mm'kay." Aquila murmured, and was quickly sound asleep again.

Fumbling with a nearby lantern quickly, lighting it, Linus groggily exited the bedroom to seek out the source of the noise.

* * *

Stepping idly past Malachi's unconscious body, the teacher strode in the gatehouse cottage, the first room he entered being the kitchen and dining area, although it was seldom used as such during mealtimes, for the Scrypt family usually ate with the other Redwallers in Cavern Hole. He hadn't gone far when Charles suddenly raced through the doorway and tackled the mouse from behind. Getting annoyed, the teacher shrugged him off and threw him aside. Charles crashed into a nearby table and knocked it over. The teacher then spun around to confront him, brandishing his staff threateningly.

Having heard the second crash up the set of nearby stairs, Linus frowned, and quickly hurried down the stairs to investigate in time to find the teacher about to strike Charles with his staff. With an alarmed yelp, Linus dropped the lantern he was carrying and grabbed the jeweled end of the staff as the teacher raised it over his head in preparation to strike and tried to yank it away.

The teacher, aware that another creature had entered the scuffle, yanked back, keeping his hold on the staff, adjusted it, and then swung it around to point in front of him, dragging Linus with. With a yelp, Linus lost his grip in the process and crashed to the floor, landing in a heap with Charles, who was still somewhat dazed. Without stopping to fully observe the effects of his work, the teacher turned and moved upstairs.

Linus was the first to get himself free from the tangle, and spied his fallen lantern and saw that it had spilt the oil it used as fuel and now lay in a puddle of flames. His eyes grew wide in alarm and forgot the teacher for the moment as he hurried to put the flames out.

"C'mon Charles, we need to put this out!" he urged the mouse, who quickly hurried to help.

* * *

Upstairs, Aquila was awakened again by all of the noise, and, growing alarmed, arose and pulled a robe around her to go and investigate. She got as far as the bedroom door when the teacher appeared in the doorway and shoved her roughly back into the room. He then slammed the door shut and used his staff to bar it. Leaving his staff where it was for the moment, he then turned and entered the bedroom on the other side of the hall.

Inside, being a deeper sleeper than his parents, Alexander was slowly waking up due to all of the noise, and was sitting up in bed, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. When he saw the teacher standing in his door, he waved at him.

"Oh, 'ello." he muttered, his wording slurred slightly with tiredness. "You awake too?"

"Yes." the teacher replied. "But you need to sleep."

"'kay." Alexander said, and lay back down to go to sleep.

The teacher nodded, and then approached Alexander's sleeping form...

* * *

Blackwing circled around Redwall, and then dove into the belltower through it's top, moving around the twin bells and then diving for the floor.

"Sparra can do this." Blackwing told himself, grabbing the tolling rope in his beak. "Sparra ring bells! Sparra can do that!"

He gave the rope a tug. The bells didn't move. He tugged harder. The two bells swayed slightly, but not enough to toll. Finally, flapping his wings and propelling himself into the air, he gave the rope a wild jerk. The bells finally began to swing. First one rang out, quickly followed by the other. Blackwing was about to celebrate that he got the bells to ring when he was jerked backwards and upwards as the bells pulled on the rope. Now the bells were pulling on Blackwing and not the other way around.

But at least they were ringing.

* * *

By the third ring, the abbey started to awaken, but by that time, the teacher was well on his way to accomplishing his goal.

Pricking Alexander carefully with a drugged-laced thorn that sent the young squirrel into an even deeper sleep within seconds, the mouse picked up Alexander and draped him over one shoulder, and turned to leave again.

Inside her bedroom, knowing that the teacher wasn't up to anything good, Aquila was trying to break her door down, but the staff blocking it was holding, preventing her from doing so. After slamming her body into the door hard at one point, she quickly backed up across the room to try again. But as the teacher turned to leave, he retrieved his staff from where it had left it, unblocking the door. Not properly latched, it slowly swung open a crack.

Aquila didn't notice as she charged the door and threw herself into it. It sprang open instantly and with ease. Surprised, Aquila stumbled, tried to slow herself, and ended up crashing into Alexander's empty room, getting a brief glimpse of the teacher as he headed calmly down the hall.

Downstairs, Charles and Linus had doused the fire using materials in the room, the flames having thankfully done little damage. They were just about to turn their attention back on the teacher when the teacher himself reappeared on his own, calmly heading down the staircase. Linus's eyes went wide when he saw his son's limp form draped over the mouse's shoulder.

"Alexander!" he exclaimed in alarm, and scrambled to get at the teacher.

Charles, being closer, however, moved to once again attack the teacher, but the teacher lashed out once with his staff, smacking Charles in the forehead with the sapphire embedded in the head of the staff. The young mouse was out like a light, and collapsed onto Linus, pushing him to the floor. The teacher moved on again, while Linus anxiously tried to climb out from under Charles's limp form.

"No!" Linus exclaimed. "Somebody stop him! _He's taking my son!_"

* * *

With Redwall's twin bells still tolling wildly, sounding the alarm (and with a sparrow still dangling from its tolling rope), the teacher made his way for the main gates, threw them open, and without resistance, started out of the abbey and down the path.

By this point, a group of confused, half-dressed, Redwall defenders rushed out onto the grounds, looking for the source of the trouble, Skipper Rowe leading them. Rowe somehow knew in advance that the teacher was behind all of this; he just needed to know where. Seeing the main gates open, Rowe quickly motioned for everyone to follow him there.

"There he goes, everybody after him!" he yelled, running at his top speed. "Redwaaaaall!"

Hearing them coming, the teacher turned and stood patiently, waiting for them to come. He waited until Rowe was roughly about four feet away, yelling madly, about to drive a spear through him, when he took something from his pocket, and threw it on the ground.

Whatever it was that he threw, it exploded upon hitting the ground, releasing a blinding flash of light in the process. Caught in the flash, the Redwallers slowed, temporarily blinded, and unable to see. Despite not being able to see, though, Rowe surged forward, pointing the spear directly ahead of him ready to feel the spear plunging into his foe.

But he didn't hit anything. At first, he thought he had somehow gotten turned around in the flash of light, and adjusted his course. Then again. He tried several blind charges like this, until his vision returned.

And then it was quite clear at that point that the mysterious mouse known as the teacher had vanished, without a trace. Not even a pawprint.

And he had taken Alexander with him.


	21. Chapter 20

Sorry this chapter is a little late. I have no excuse, but oh well. Anyway, Methusael stages a fairly bloodless coup, and deals with the three creatures who could stand in his way, with some cookies thrown in. :)

Chapter 20

If Angola could be considered in turmoil before, now it would be considered possibly even worse. As the night wore on, the village of mice found themselves alone as the royal guard was inexplicably recalled back to Midnight Castle. And with word of the snipers shooting at his lordship (whose exact location was unknown now by most of the populace) having spread to every nook and cranny, many were thinking that this couldn't have come a more worse time.

At Midnight Castle, however, no one had gotten any real explanations about what was going on. Every fox in the structure was to gather in the dining hall. The mice that also served in the castle were to gather in the entry hall. No one knew why, and speculation only made creatures that much more confused. Finally, the foxes were all gathered in the dining hall, including the royal guard, the tables having been moved out of the way to fit everyone.

They were talking amongst themselves in a confused manner, but quickly fell silent when Methusael appeared on the first of the three balconies, and motioned for silence. Soon, all eyes were on him. For the first few moments of the silence, Methusael said nothing, overlooking the crowd that had gathered for a few moments.

"My fellow creatures." he finally began. "I know you are all confused and wondering what's happening here. I assure that there is an explanation. However, in order to tell it, I must first focus on some of the matters that have been occurring in Angola as of late."

"As you all very well know, our troubles probably began when our beloved Lady Grinta fell ill back in the autumn season. Not ill enough for her life to be in jeopardy just yet, particularly not with our wonderful healers watching over her, but ill enough to not be able to continue with her duties as lady of the land. As her husband, the late Lord Jarren Fennix, had already passed on at this point, Lady Grinta chose her eldest son, Kani Fennix, the next in line for the throne, to take over her duties hopefully temporarily. From there, things rapidly grew worse here in Angola."

Some murmuring broke out again among the foxes that had gathered to listen as they wondered what Methusael meant by that. Some of them had taken angry tones. Methusael motioned again for silence, and was obediently given it.

"I will say now that none of this was Kani's fault." he continued. "As we all know, Kani is a very good creature. He certainly didn't mean for any of this to happen. And certainly, it was he who caused it, but someone else, some evil creature or creatures that are hiding somewhere in Angola. The problem, I believe, is that Kani was too young to take on so much responsibility so soon. Additionally, he had no experience as a lord yet.

"And then there are other matters to consider, such as the fact that Kani has lost all of the creatures close to him, and is the only surviving member of his family. We all know how hard each of these deaths hit poor Kani. The tragic murder of his younger brother, Hax Fennix, this past winter left him constantly depressed, and I fear not thinking as straight as he should. The death of his mother only days ago dealt another unexpected blow that hit him even harder. We all saw that he was left even more depressed, and I daresay he was acting rash, as well, letting his feelings control him."

More murmuring broke out again. Methusael again had to motion for silence.

"I can provide evidence." he said. "The unexpected rebellion with the Angolian mice, for instance. At first, Kani wished to seek a peaceful solution to the situation, an idea we all, at first, supported. However, a season passed, and if anything, the rebellion only grew worse, with no signs of changing. I suggested, by the fur, I even told his lordship that perhaps we should try a different tactic, to try and use some force. Otherwise, we were merely standing back and allowing this threat of the rebellion to continue. Kani refused to listen to me, and continued to use the same tactics, tactics that were not working. Now, the rebellion has risen to a point that blood is now being needlessly shed! Can you see the error in Kani's decision?"

He paused, giving the foxes below a moment to consider this. Murmuring began yet again, and Methusael could see some heads nodding already. He motioned for silence again.

"And then Kani made a choice we all wondered about." he said. "He opted to allow the royal guard and the Angolian militia to join forces, with the idea that the added creatures on patrol could slow and possibly even stop the rebellion. But we _know _that the mice are behind the rebellion! As much as I hate to admit it, we simply cannot put that kind of trust into the militia! They could be working against us for all we know! And perhaps we have proof, for it wasn't long after this decision that the rebels began shedding blood!"

More murmuring. Methusael opted to ignore it this time, and merely rose his voice to be heard over it.

"And then there was the Bluejay's trial! All the evidence clearly indicated that she murdered her ladyship, Lady Grinta, but Kani, instead of executing her as our laws state, allowed her to live, and to merely be imprisoned and to be 'treated well'! Good treatment for a murderer? I do not even know what Kani was thinking! Clearly, he was so overcome with grief that he was no longer thinking straight!"

The murmuring increased in volume, and many more heads began to nod to show their agreement with Methusael. One creature in the back even exclaimed "that's right" loudly for all to hear.

"I do not question Kani's wisdom, nor his abilities as lord. I do not find him any less worthy that any other creature, nor any less competent. He is our lord, and we should treat him no less. But he has been through a great deal, and I worry for his mental health. I believe the stress of all of this has taken its toll upon him! He needs treatment and care, before he gets worse, and there is no going back. But that is where the problem lies. Lord Kani has gone missing."

The murmuring finally rose to a roar as everyone spoke at once about this announcement. Naturally, they had all heard by now the rumors of what had happened in the village while Kani was out, but of course, everyone was secretly hoping they weren't true.

Oh, but it was.

"Yes, the rumors are true!" Methusael said, motioning for silence. "Lord Kani received a message claiming to be from the rebels, asking that they meet with in at a location of their choosing in private. Yesterday afternoon, he left to attend to this meeting, taking with him only one guard. Neither have returned since. According to what little is known, the meeting was a trap, to lure his lordship out into the open, and to be shot and killed by snipers. We have reason to believe that Kani survived the trap, but his exact location is now unknown. But it is fairly safe to assume that he has been captured and is now in the paws of the rebels, the mice!" he paused, surveying the group. "I do not know if Kani still lives. But I hope he is still alive, and is merely waiting to be rescued from wherever it is that he is being held captive somewhere in the village. Until then, someone will need to take control of the throne until it's rightful owner can be returned to it, and that creature will have to be me."

Another outburst rang out at this. It was clear that the crowd had mixed feelings about this. Methusael again motioned for silence.

"I do not like this anymore than you do." he promised. "But you know as well as I that it must be done. If, heaven forbid, Kani does in fact prove to be dead by the time we find him, then I hope you will come to accept this change in due time. However, if Kani still lives, a fact we are all hoping for, then I promise to do everything in my power to bring him safely home as quickly as possible!"

A cheer rang out at this, not a very loud one, but enough to see that the crowd was heartened immensely by this comment.

"As such, I will need to make a few changes to make sure this happens as quickly as possible." Methsuael continued. "First and foremost, as much I as hate to admit it, but we are on the brink of war, and therefore we must treat it that way. We do not know how far the Angolian rebellion has spread, therefore, until further notice, mice are not to be trusted. They could be traitors just waiting to make their move. They may not. I, of course, am leaning towards to the latter, but too much blood has been lost needlessly over this matter already to take the peaceful tactic, as I have already stated. Thereby, all mice, both servant and worker alike, are hereby banned from Midnight Castle. None shall be allowed back in without having first been searched and checked out by a patrol from the royal guard and have been authorized explicably by me. If and when they enter, they are to be guarded and watched at all times by at least one creature capable of combat.

"The royal guard has been recalled and will now receive new orders. They are as follows; to continue searching for any evidence of the rebellion. To resist any attacks against patrols as needed, preferably to disable, but authorization to kill upon continued resistence is given as of now. The patrol now has authorization to forcibly search as suspicious creatures and houses and buildings as needed. If they find any evidence that Kani is being held at any location, they have authorization to raid and attack as needed without need to report to me at Midnight Castle first. They are to take as many live captives as possible, and to bring Kani safely home, where I will immediately meet with to arrange him being placed back in command, if conditions support it.

"Guards are to be stationed at all entrances of this castle at all times, and are to be rotated at regular intervals. Visitors coming to this castle are to be searched before they are allowed to enter. The rebellion may have spread to include other creatures besides mice, although I certainly hope not. War has officially, as of this moment, been declared on the rebellion, and as such, all stores of weapons of war are to be brought out of storage and taken to where they can easily be accessed in the event of a battle. Half will be required to be brought here at Midnight Castle.

"All remaining creatures in this castle will be investigated if the belief that a need as such should ever occur. These investigations can both be conducted secretly or publicly. I reserve the right to decide. The royal guard are also ordered to carry out any orders to raid or search any room in this castle if they are so ordered without question. Any attempts to do as such without receiving an official order will be investigated further. The investigation into the murders of Hax and Grinta Fennix will now be under my control, and I shall continue it as I see fit. I also reserve the right to add to, remove from, or alter in anyway any of these new rules at anytime until this conflict is over.

"Ladies and gentlebeasts, that is all I have to say to you. I encourage you all to provide support in this matter, pray that everything will be resolved quickly and peacefully, and I wish to have this matter over by the end of the season at most. Thank you for your attention, you are now free to go."

Another cheer went up as Methusael concluded his statement, but as he turned away from the balcony, he could still see were unhappy about this abrupt change in leadership. As he walked away, he pulled a guard towards him.

"Find and track down every creature in this castle that is resisting these changes and arrest them and place them in the dungeons." he ordered quietly. "I will meet with them and discuss the situation further with them in private as soon as the opportunity arises."

The guard nodded, and went to carry out the orders, rallying two more guards to go with him. Methusael watched them leave, and decided that this way, he'll have complete control of Angola before morning.

* * *

This was also how Adah Eventide found herself quite roughly shoved into a cell in the dungeons a few minutes later. Stumbling, the vixen tumbled to the floor. She shot the guard that had pushed her a glare as he closed the cell door and locked it, and then picked herself up and looked around the little and sparsely furnished cell to discover that she was not alone.

"So, Mistress Adah, what did you do to find yourself in here?" Bluejay asked venomously as she worked to bandage Mordecai's head, who, except for being a little loopy and sore, was conscious and no worse for wear from the attack he had received from Methusael. "Rubbed Methusael's fur the wrong way, hmm?"

"I suppose you could say that." Adah admitted, straightening and rubbing the back of her neck with one paw. "I'm not exactly sure _what _to think anymore, to be honest. Everything has happened so fast that I don't know what to make of it. One moment, I was in my chambers, peacefully reading a book, then I was brought to the dining hall to hear Methusael state that he was essentially taking over, and then I was brought here when I was caught grumbling aloud about all of this."

"Ah, but Methusael can't take any chances." Bluejay said with an angry snort. "He's come too far now to have someone resist and get the truth out."

Adah paused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's a coup, Mistress Adah." Mordecai said, his voice sounding harsh. "Methusael has staged a bloodless coup to seize control of the throne from Master Kani."

"Bloodless! Hah!" Bluejay scoffed. "It was Methusael that murdered her ladyship, and probably poor Master Hax as well. He's been planning this for several seasons now, I'm sure of it."

Adah was silent for a moment as she sat down on the stone floor to process this. Her eyes were wider than normal, but she didn't seem too shocked by this accusation. "How can you be sure?" she asked finally.

"I've had some time to think about this." Bluejay pointed out. "Right now, I'm kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. Practically right under my snout, so it was. Looking back, I can see a whole multitude of things that one could have used to proclaim Methusael the traitor he is." she paused, blinking a few times to hold back a sudden fit of tears. "We just didn't have the nerve to do anything about it, I suppose. And just look where it's gotten us."

Adah was again silent for a moment, curling her red tail around her in shame. "I suppose Methusael always did strike me as the kind of creature who'd try something like this, but I never thought he would." she said softly. "Not until too late, at least."

"We _all_ didn't see this coming until far too late, Mistress Adah." Mordecai pointed out. "I didn't make the connection until a matter of seconds before Methusael outright told me earlier this evening in Master Kani's study. A few seconds after that, he struck me and knocked me out. I awoke sometime later to find myself in this cell with Bluejay treating the bump on my head."

"You already know my story, mistress." Bluejay said. "Framed for a crime I didn't commit. I figured out how Methusael did that, too. He merely swapped out the herbs I used for making medicine with the poisonous ones while no one was looking, and having no reason to suspect anything, didn't stop to make sure I was using the right herb when mixing the medicine that would kill Lady Grinta." she gave the bandage she was tying around Mordecai's brow an unnecessary hard tug in anger at herself, making him cry out. "Sorry Mordecai, but I'm just madder than...well...I'm just mad, is all. Should've seen this coming seasons ago, before all this life was lost, but didn't. I swear, if anybody should be murdered, it's that treacherous scum, Methusael. If given half the chance, I'd willingly drive a knife into his heart."

"What about Kani?" Adah asked, suddenly looking concerned. "Is he all right?"

"No way to know for how much longer, Mistress Adah, but for the moment, I reckon he is." Mordecai said. "The rumors say he survived the attack and has merely been taken by the mice to some unknown location."

"Yes, I know, Methusael said the rumors were true in his speech."

"Then he's unwittingly proving our theories right." Bluejay said with a grin. "Another thing I've had a chance to figure out, mistress. Despite what Methusael says, I really don't think the mice are the enemy. I think they're on our side, trying to stop the same things we wish we could. In fact, they may have caught onto this far sooner than we ever did, and that's why they rebelled to begin with. So long as Kani stays with them, he should stay safe."

"But for how much longer?" Adah asked. "Methusael swore that he'd have the rebels weaseled out of Angola by the end of the season."

"As I feared as such." Mordecai said. "Methusael knows that his planned ambush failed, and that Kani is still alive, and now he's trying to make sure that he doesn't blow his cover. If Master Kani is as wise as I believe him to be, he'll leave Angola at the first opportunity he gets."

"Leave?" Adah repeated, and then bowed her head, crestfallen. "Kani..."

Bluejay, having finished with the bandage for Mordecai, paused to look at Adah. "You two were close, weren't you?"

Adah hesitated. "Somewhat, yes." she admitted.

"I would worry more about us for the moment." Mordecai said. "I worry about what Methusael wants to do with us next."

"He'll probably just leave us here." Bluejay said. "Which isn't so bad, except you're stuck sitting here with nothing to do all day long but sit here, and you don't have the chance to get to bathe every now and then. I probably don't smell the best at the moment."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Adah said with a sympathetic grin.

"Food and water was good, and came steadily, though." Bluejay did admit. "But that was with Kani still in control. I'll bet that will stop now. Lunch never did come, and dinner is already late."

"I believe the intention is to not leave, at the very least, I and Mistress Adah in here for so long, though." Mordecai said. "Other creatures would notice and inquire as to where we are. Unless Methusael has a good explanation to convince the others to leave us here, he'll let us go eventually."

"But if he does, only to make sure that we don't cause him trouble, and that we play along with his little coup." Bluejay pointed out.

"Maybe we should." Adah spoke aloud suddenly.

"What?" Bluejay asked.

"Well, think about it!" Adah said. "We can't stop this no matter how you look at it! If we refuse to help him, we just are left to rot in a cell! If we do agree to be loyal to him, we're free to wander the castle and live somewhat normal lives!"

"I would never agree to it!" Bluejay said. "I would rather _die _that serve that scumball!"

"I suppose, though, we won't really know what we would choose until we are faced with that choice." Mordecai reasoned.

At that moment, the cell door unlocked and swung open to reveal two guards.

"Master Methusael requests your presence in the throne room." one of the guards reported.

Adah gulped. "I guess we're going to find out now." she said, as the three exited the cell to follow the guards.

* * *

Methusael hadn't wasted any time making himself comfortable as lord of the land. He was lounging luxuriously in Kani's throne when Mordecai was brought to kneel before him, the first of the three to visit Methusael. Mordecai gave him a glare. Methusael merely turned and gave him a victorious grin.

"That's not your throne." Mordecai said, jabbing a claw at the chair.

"It is now." Methusael remarked, still grinning.

"Not rightfully."

"A small detail I'm choosing to overlook."

Mordecai gave him an annoyed look, then glanced around at the handful of guards standing in the throne room. "Listen, all of you." he said loudly to them. "Don't let him do this!"

"Save your breath, Mordecai, they won't listen to you." Methusael said, adjusting his position to sit in the chair more properly. "You didn't really think I would stage a coup without having some of the royal guard not be loyal specifically to me, did you?"

Mordecai opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it again, and hung his head.

Methusael chuckled. "Typical Mordecai, always so unsuspecting." he said. "You didn't even have a clue I was planning anything suspicious until too late, did you?"

"Then why did you even tell me?" Mordecai asked. "I could have gone on unsuspecting anything so serious if you hadn't just told me."

"I couldn't guarantee that." Methusael pointed out. "Besides, I knew problems would still arise between us no matter what. You're too loyal to the Fennix family."

"It is my duty to be so."

"Not any more."

"Says you."

"I do have a little proposal for you, though." Methusael said, leaning closer. "Maybe, if you promise to just...play along...with this little charade, I'll forget this all happened, and let you continue doing you're little job as servant."

* * *

"Let me get this straight." Bluejay said skeptically, the second to meet with Methusael. "You're saying that if I agree to be loyal with you and continue with this coup, you'll clear my name?"

"A completely blank slate." Methusael promised with a wave of his paw. "I have control over the investigation into the murders of Hax and Grinta now. I can conjure evidence to prove that you didn't have any part with it."

"I have a better idea." Bluejay said with snarl. "How about you turn yourself in?"

"Hmm, looks like those few days in the dungeons gave you an attitude." Methusael remarked calmly.

"I've had that long to decide just how much I hate your guts."

"Continue to do that, and you'll see it'll only get you a one way ticket back to those dungeons." Methusael leaned closer, giving her a dark look. "And I won't be so kind to you as Kani was."

"I kind of already guessed that, thank you." Bluejay said flatly. "I'm just surprised you have decided to execute me."

"I'm being a good new lord of Angola and giving you the chance to make amends." Methusael stated, leaning back in the throne. "Besides, I have bigger fish to fry than to deal with the likes of you at the moment. I need to focus my attention on guaranteeing that this...gambit...of mine is permanent."

"Oh, got a loose end, do you?" Bluejay asked. "It wouldn't happen to be Kani, now would it?"

Methusael gave her a glare. "Like I said, I will handle him." he said. "Now, back to the matter at paw. What's your answer?"

* * *

"I...I don't know." Adah admitted, the third to meet with Methusael. "I'm torn, I...I...don't know what I want."

"The answer should be obvious, Adah." Methusael said, rising from the throne and beginning to pace around her. "A vixen of your caliber doesn't deserve to be locked away in a cell for the rest of her life, surviving on meager supplies of food and water."

"Is that what would happen to me if I don't agree to your terms?" Adah asked.

"If you're not with me, you're against me, Adah." Methusael said. "I would have to treat you as the enemy, no matter what. I need your vow of allegiance to me first. Look, life would continue more or less as before, especially after this trouble with the rebellion is resolved. Is it really so much to ask for?"

"Why should I give it to you? You've already taken this matter much too far for my liking."

"It couldn't be avoided."

"You harmed Kani."

"I warned you that you shouldn't have gotten so close to him. Now it's time for you to choose which creature you'd rather follow. The creature who controls it all, or the creature who has been dethroned, is on the run, and probably will be dead by tomorrow?"

Adah bit her lip, still torn over the choice that she faced, her ears pulled back to add to her expression of worry and uncertainty.

"Look, Adah, I could use you." Methusael said, stopping his circling and kneeling down before her, lifting her chin with one claw. "You are well liked by the other creatures in this castle. They are more likely to behave if you are still amongst their numbers. Plus, I, myself, would still have uses for you. Nothing too drastic, but important enough that you'll still feel needed. Like I said, everything will return to normal in the end, just with a new leader, me. And my goals are in the end the same. I intend to work to make Angola a better place. Please, help me to do that."

Adah looked at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze again, considering her choices.

She knew the choice she was going to have to go with in the end.

* * *

"They have been in there for a very long time." Mordecai noted, looking at the closed doors of the throne room, in which Adah and Methusael were meeting.

"I know, I don't understand why." Bluejay remarked, sitting on the floor beside him, heavily guarded as they awaited the outcomes of the last meeting. "I should think the answer should be obvious no matter what Methusael says."

"No?" Mordecai asked.

"It's what I told him." Bluejay said. "Without hesitation. You?"

"The same in the end, though I will admit it was tempting." he sighed. "But it just didn't seem...right."

"Shh, here they come." Bluejay suddenly shushed, as the throne room doors swung open.

Methusael strode happily out, Adah following, looking both crestfallen and ashamed. Methusael nodded at the closest guard.

"You may take those two back to their cell." he said motioning to Bluejay and Mordecai. "They had their chance, and they passed it up." he turned to Adah and grinned. "Unlike Mistress Adah, here."

Bluejay and Mordecai blinked in surprise at Methusael, then stared at Adah in surprise. Adah avoided their gaze, and continued to do so as they were escorted away.

"Come, Adah." Methusael said, walking away in the other direction. "There is business we need to attend to."

Adah gazed in the direction Bluejay and Mordecai had been taken, then silently nodded, and followed the lord she had sworn allegiance to...


	22. Chapter 21

The aftermath of the coup is made apparent. Possibilities are discussed, and Kani begins tackling the problem before him. :) Next chapter should be a Redwall-centric one, before bouncing back to Angola briefly. The next few chapters after that should focus on Redwall for awhile. ;)

Chapter 21

"Kani..."

Kani tried to ignore the voice, despite it coming at him from all directions, and being accompanied by the now all-too-familiar chill. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"Kani..."

No, he was more than just not in the mood. He was crushed. His family was dead. His country he had suppositively been in control of was now in turmoil. He had been betrayed by a creature he had always thought he could trust. He had nearly lost his own life, twice. He had every right to feel like this.

"Kani...hope is not all lost."

"Says you!" the fox snapped at the voice, opening his eyes and staring at it. As usual, all he saw was an indistinct shape floating among grey mists. The shape seemed clearer than ever, but Kani still couldn't place it. Whatever it was, it was a creature, and this time he seemed concerned.

Kani could care less about hit concern, however. He gave the shadowy shape what he hoped to be a glare of annoyance, and turned away.

"Kani..."

"No, I'm not listening!" Kani persisted. "You can't possibly know what I'm dealing with at the moment!"

There was a long pause before the shadow gave his reply.

"But I can, Kani...and I share your grief."

The term seemed to Kani to be the simplest phrase in the world, and he seriously thought that the shadow, if it was really a living being of some sort, merely said it to try and comfort him. But then, the way he said it made Kani turn back to face the shadow, looking more curious and willing to listen now. Seeing that he had the fox's attention, the shadow continued.

"Kani...there is a solution to this situation. Good can be restored in Angola. But you must trust me, and you must trust yourself."

"Myself?" Kani repeated, puzzled further still.

"What I am about to ask of you can be taken in the wrong way, and either way will not be easy for you to accomplish."

"Nothing these past few seasons has been easy." Kani remarked pointedly, he way of saying he could handle it.

And a few moments later, when Kani calmly awoke in the cot that had been prepared for him, he realized that he really did know of a possible answer to the situation...

* * *

The following morning in Angola proved to be depressing and grey in appearance. A thin layer of clouds overcast the sky, not quite thick enough to block out the light of the sun as it rose into the sky, but enough to create the needed effect. Creatures awoke that morning and went about their business as usual, but all of them seemed sluggish, and going about it half-heartedly. Today seemed to be a day better spent dwelling on bitter feelings than to continue with life happily like before. More so for the mice of Angola than the foxes.

News of what had happened during the night previous had spread rapidly across the land, and soon everyone knew, in short, the tale to be told. Although, some of the more important details had yet to travel fully across the area, causing some mild frustration with the fact that there was still questions out there that had yet to be answered still when there shouldn't be. The results of last night also spread rapidly. The royal guard had doubled in numbers and were more alert, and occasionally better armed than before. They wandered the streets of the village attentively, looking at every mouse they saw with a mild look of suspicion, perhaps suspecting everyone of them of treason or something of the sort, but even they seemed slightly depressed.

The mice who served at the castle all returned home late in the evening to deliver the bad news. No mouse will be allowed in the castle anytime soon, unless circumstances, for some reason, change. Some took hope in the fact that if one was cleared by the royal guard and his lordship, then they could possibly return to the castle. But many others knew it would be a false hope. The mice of Angola weren't to be trusted anymore, and they had the unknown rebellion to thank for it. Now, these creatures who served at the castle sat in their homes or wandered the streets themselves, having nothing better to do but twiddle their claws, wondering whatever they'll do now.

And again, Moroni found himself wondering if it was all his fault.

He kept telling himself that it wasn't, at least, not entirely. There were creatures in this land that he knew were more at fault than himself. But he couldn't help, as a leader, to let the blame rest upon his shoulders. Already, a mouse had been arrested by the royal guard for suspicious activity, as per their orders, and was searched and questioned for a long period of time before being released again, the royal guard satisfied for the moment that this creature had no part in the rebellion. And in reality, he wasn't. Moroni didn't even know him personally, but he pitied the poor creature and wondered what it was he had done to make the royal guard suspect him, if anything at all.

Which always led Moroni to a terrifying thought. It was highly probable that the royal guard didn't have the foggiest clue of who might be a rebel and who might not, and were merely arresting and investigating creatures at random, knowing that eventually, through the process of elimination, they'll get lucky and find what they're looking for. Therefore, it would only be a matter of time before a true rebel was found. What worried Moroni most about that fact was that he didn't know what would happen to those creatures once captured. Their lives could be at stake. Which again made Moroni, being the rebel leader, responsible those lives.

He very nearly found himself cursing the name of his father, Mormon, for this, as it was his final instructions that had led him to start the rebellion in the first place, something that seemed to be only causing more harm than good. But at the same time, he wondered if the rebellion was actually just the thing to have.

He was convinced now that Mormon had somehow known that a coup d'etat was being planned, or at least suspected. Why he didn't just tell this to Moroni, he didn't know, but by leading his one son into starting a rebellion, they found out for themselves what was happening. Additionally, they were also unknowingly preparing themselves for this event, by gathering supplies and weapons that will almost certainly be next to impossible for them to obtain now. And, most important of all, a rebellion of any sort was going to be the only way to set things straight again.

It was the only thing that was giving Moroni any type of cheer, so he savored this fact.

It wasn't enough for some, though. When dawn broke, he had left Neph's cottage and discreetly and carefully journeyed home to check up on his wife, Ruth. By this point in time, she was very much aware of what was happening, and was almost literally worried sick over the matter, and terribly frightened. While he was there, Moroni tried his best to reassure her, to tell her that everything would be all right in the end, but that wasn't enough for Ruth, and Moroni wasn't really believing his own words anyway. Ruth was much too worried to accept any kind of comfort anyway, great or small, unless this whole mess suddenly ended and everything went back to normal immediately. What gave Moroni cheer didn't cheer her in the slightest.

Furthermore, Ruth knew more about the situation than Moroni had, who had only overheard smatterings, the rest he deduced himself with the help of the others. Ruth, on the other paw, had time to converse with one of her lady friends about the issue, and was by this point, better versed on the matter than Moroni, all of which she of course related to her husband at the first given chance.

But none of it was really new news for Moroni. It had merely confirmed what he had already suspected.

He had breakfast with Ruth, and then journeyed back to Neph's cottage. He had to move carefully this time, as the village was more awake now than it had been before, and there were more alert eyes looking about than before who might consider him as suspicious. It wasn't just the royal guard and their patrols he had to worry about. If any of the other mice living within the village caught onto the fact that he had any involvement in the rebellion, they might just turn him in to save themselves. He arrived at Neph's cottage safely, however, and without trouble.

"Hello again everyone." he greeted when Neph allowed him in as usual.

With the exception of Neph, however, it looked like absolutely nothing had occurred while he was gone. Mathoni and Sister Daisy were even sitting in the same spots at the table as Moroni had seen them when he arrived the previous night. Like him, all three of them had seen little sleep, having been up a better part of the night discussing what had happened and unable to sleep well afterwards because of it. Moroni could relate with the depressed look they wore, but he tried to act cheerful.

"I've brought some breakfast." he said, sitting down at the table to join them, holding up a haversack. "Ruth's special biscuits, with honey butter and strawberry jam to spread on them, too."

"Thank you, Moroni." Sister Daisy said politely, accepting a cup of warm cider from Neph and slowly sipping from it before changing the subject. "How is it out there?"

Moroni bit his lip. He couldn't lie. "Not good." he admitted. "The results of the coup are already showing."

"So we were right, then." Neph concluded. "About everything."

Moroni nodded. "Even right down to who's behind it all." he said, pausing to sip his own drink before continuing. "My own Ruth can confirm it. She got the inside story from a friend, who is a very good source for this kind of thing, which she told me when I dropped by." he paused again, staring depressingly into his cup. "Methusael is now in control of the land."

Sister Daisy pounded the table with her fist at this announcement. "That traitor." she said. "I would personally love to run him through."

"What did he have to do to get such control over the land _and _its creatures, though?" Neph asked. "Brute force?"

"From what I understand, the coup was surprisingly bloodless, but for all the wrong reasons." Moroni explained. "Methusael used the problems in his plan to his advantage to win the support of the others. In short, we end up on the worse end. All mice are banned from Midnight Castle and are not to be trusted. The hunt for us, the rebels, is now going full force." he looked at Mathoni. "And all strangers in the land are to be searched, and then judged, probably unfairly if Methusael has anything to do with it, if they are to be trusted."

"Sink me rudder." Mathoni muttered, trying not to think about that by buttering a biscuit. "Guess I'll 'ave t' be extra careful, then."

Moroni sighed. "Actually, Mathoni, I was thinking that now would probably be the time for you to return to your abbey, Redwall."

Mathoni paused, and gave the mouse a look. "Return?" he asked. "Wotever for?"

"Mathoni, he's right, you shouldn't stay here." Sister Daisy said. "This isn't your battle, it's ours. You shouldn't have gotten mixed up in this to begin with, and we've already put your life on the line enough already. If things continue as they are, as I'm sure they will, things are only going to get worse, and more dangerous."

"I know that!" Mathoni said. "I'm willin' t' take th' risk!"

"But I'm not!" Moroni pressed. "While you are here, you are my responsibility, and part of that is making sure you stay safe! I don't want to see anything happen to you that would prevent you from returning to that abbey of yours, so I'm requesting, _nicely_, that you return home now while there might still be a chance."

"But ye need me 'ere!" Mathoni said. "If things really do get as bad as ye're sayin' they will, ye're goin' t' need all th' help ye can get. An' I can be part of that help!"

"And we're immensely grateful you want to help us so much, Mathoni, even though you have no part of it." Neph stated. "In fact, you've already helped us more than we could have ever asked of you. But I have to side with Moroni. You shouldn't be here. We don't want to see anything bad happen to you, and this isn't your problem anyway."

"I can 'andle meself, thank ye kindly." Mathoni pressed. "An' this _became _part of me problem th' moment I stepped inside of Angola."

"Maybe so, but the discussion is closed, Mathoni." Moroni said sternly. "Next chance I get, I will speak with Amulek and Hyrum and have them find a way to sneak you out of the valley."

He then resumed nibbling at the breakfast he, himself, provided. Mathoni did likewise, giving Moroni an occasional glare out of the corner of his eye, but did not argue the matter further. The group continued eating in silence for a few moments.

"How is his lordship?" Moroni asked softly after a few moments.

"Still sleeping in the cellar." Sister Daisy replied. "I daresay he needs it."

"Speaking of which, Moroni, he can't stay here for much longer." Neph pointed out. "If he does, he'll eventually be discovered, and then we'd be pretty much sunk."

"I know." Moroni agreed. "But he isn't going to be truly safe no matter where we take him in the village, and he'd be even harder sneak out of Angola than Mathoni. I don't think he would let us do such a thing anyway, not with things having gone as they have."

"So what should we do?" Neph asked.

"Keep on doing what we've been doing for the time being." Moroni said. "Eventually, though, we're going to have to take this rebellion to the next level. Quite likely, if we ever want to see Methusael overthrown and brought to justice, then we're Angola's only hope. It's all going to be up to us."

"Quite right, captain, and that's exactly what you're going to do."

Everyone turned as the cellar door suddenly swung open and Kani clambered purposely out, looking truly ready to face this problem head on for the first time since he had arrived here. Surprised at his sudden arrival, the four creatures quickly rose from the table and bowed in respect of the lord, Moroni leading them.

"Good morning, your lordship, I trust you slept well?" the mouse captain asked.

"More or less." Kani said with a sigh. "And, all of you, stand up straight. There's no need for any of that respectful business." he sighed again. "I hardly deserve it at this point anyway, letting things get this much out of control as I did."

The others disagreed with this sentiment as they rose from their bows as requested, but wisely chose not to argue.

"Would you care for some breakfast, Lord Kani?" Sister Daisy asked politely, offering him a biscuit and a mug of cider.

Kani nodded, and accepted the offered food and drink, chewing on it thoughtfully as he joined them at the table. The others watched him, their meals forgotten for the moment.

Mathoni cleared his throat suddenly. "Ye were sayin' somethin' yore lordship?" he asked.

"Yes." Kani said, nodding. "I was saying that Captain Moroni, you are going to do exactly what you were saying there."

"What, using the rebellion to defeat Methusael?" Moroni asked.

"And you're going to keep doing it for as long as you can, too." Kani pressed. "Hopefully, you can keep Methusael distracted long enough for help to arrive."

"Help?" Moroni repeated.

"Distracted?" Sister Daisy repeated as well.

Neph allowed a grin to spread on his face. "You've got a plan, don't you, lord?"

"Yes." Kani said, and pointed a claw at Mathoni. "Mathoni, you're going to be heading back to Redwall before the day is through."

Mathoni blinked. "But yore lordship..." he began to object.

"Along with me." the fox added.

This brought surprised looks from the others.

"T-to Redwall, yore lordship?" Mathoni asked. "Ye're comin' with?"

"Redwall is a place of peace, but she has warriors within her walls, yes?"

"Er...aye."

"Enough to give Angola the support it needs to stop Methusael?"

Mathoni suddenly brightened as he caught on. "Aye!" he agreed. "Might be stretchin' it just a tad, but it should be enough if ye get plenty of Angolians t' 'elp!"

"That I think I can do." Moroni said. "I'm sure there are going to be plenty of Angolian mice out there now that are going to be willing to help after everything that has happened. It's just a matter of finding them and entrusting them into the rebellion."

"Then do it." Kani said. "Gather as many creatures into the rebellion as you can Moroni, and hold Methusael back as long as you can. In the meantime, I will be traveling with Mathoni to Redwall Abbey to request their aid in our cause."

"Ingenious, your lordship!" Neph exclaimed. "Why, we must have had our heads stuck in the clouds to have not thought of that first! However did you get the idea?"

Kani stopped to finish his meal and rise from the table, wiping his lips, before replying.

"Curious things, dreams are, aren't they?" he asked mysteriously, and then returned to the cellar to prepare for the journey ahead of him.


	23. Chapter 22

Redwall centric chapter. By popular request. :p I haven't decided yet, but the next chapter might follow up on this one. It might not, and bounce briefly back to Angola. Maybe it'll be both (not likely though, I've been trying to pull that off since the fanfic's start, and haven't managed it yet). Anyway, just FYI. ;)

Chapter 22

Skipper Rowe and his otters searched everywhere within a few hours walking distance of the abbey for the missing teacher and Alexander, the search stretching on from the night the event occurred and on through the following morning, none of them pausing to sleep or eat or anything during this time. They searched valiantly and hard, looking everywhere, even in the unlikely places the two creatures could've gone.

But they didn't find a trace of either the teacher, or young Alexander.

Eventually, by late morning, tired, weary, and hungry, Rowe lead his otters back to the abbey, crestfallen. Several creatures had been awaiting their return, and were watching vigilantly for them. When they saw them, they quickly opened the gates to admit them into the abbey. As they filed into the abbey, they were greeted anxiously by Abbot Isaiah.

"Welcome back." Isaiah greeted first, addressing Rowe, as he was leading. "Did you find anything?"

Rowe shook his head sadly. "Not a trace, Father Abbot." he said. "We looked everywhere, but...there was nothin' t' be found." he shook his head. "I don't get it. There should be _somethin'_. No creature is _that _good at hidin' his tracks. But there's nothin'; it's like th' pair just vanished from th' face o' th' earth."

Isaiah placed a comforting paw on Rowe shoulder. "You tried your best, Rowe, that's all you could've done for now. We'll just have to think of something else. In the meantime, some food and drink from breakfast was saved for you and your crew in Cavern Hole. I trust that you're all would be quite hungry by now."

"An' tired." Rowe admitted, fighting back a yawn and failing. "But I don't want t' stop, not when we still 'ave one of our own out there somewhere still."

"Rowe, get something to eat, and then get some sleep." Isaiah pressed. "You almost look dead on your footpaws. If I must make it an order, I will."

Rowe hesitated, then nodded, motioning to his crew that were standing around, waiting for orders. "C'mon mates, ye did a job well done." he told them. "So let's get some food and some well deserved rest."

They started to walk wearily off, the abbot following, but they were halted when they heard a yell from behind them, and turned.

"Rowe!" Linus exclaimed, looking to be somewhere between panicked and enraged, "Did you find my son?"

"No, Linus, we didn't, we searched everywhere without findin' a trace." Rowe said, and opened his mouth to say more.

Linus cut him short. "Then get back out there and _find him_!" he demanded.

"Linus..." Isaiah began.

"My son has been kidnaped, Father Abbot!" Linus snapped. "He's been taken somewhere out there against his will, and I won't rest until I know that the creatures responsible are slain!"

"Linus!" Isaiah said sternly, raising his voice. "Control yourself! That isn't your place to decide!"

Linus made several motions as if to object, but finally, fell silent, knowing that the abbot was right, and bowed his head in shame.

"Go on ahead and go, Rowe, I'll handle this." Isaiah instructed.

Rowe nodded, and led him and his crew into the abbey. Isaiah turned to Linus, who was avoiding eye contact, and sighed.

"Linus, having never had any children of my own, nor having had any of them kidnaped, I can't imagine what you're feeling like." he said softly. "But I imagine it must be terrible."

Linus, unable to find words to describe it, merely nodded.

"But you must understand that Alexander is a Redwaller, and thereby I am responsible for his well being just as much as you are." Isaiah continued. "And you must also understand that we are doing everything in our power to try and get him back, but clearly, it is going to be a long and hard process to do so. So I ask that you be patient and understanding when we come up short."

"I understand, Father Abbot, and you know that I didn't mean any harm." Linus said. "It's just...I don't want to sit here and be able to do nothing but sit and pray that everything will work out and he'll return home safely. I want to be out _there, _helping the others _find _him." he paused. "Abbot Isaiah, why won't you let me help? Alexander is _my _son, I should help somehow!"

"I know, Linus, but at the moment, you can best help by not helping." Isaiah said wisely. "Look at yourself. You're being driven by your concern for your son and your hatred for those who took him. You would keep pushing yourself through thick and thin until you either succeeded, or passed out, having driven yourself to exhaustion. Your well being is just as much my responsibility as your son's, and I won't let you do such a thing."

Again, Linus saw that the abbot was right, and was forced to agree.

"Yes, of course." he said glumly. "You're right, Father Abbot."

Isaiah made a comforting grin, and led Linus into the abbey. "How is Aquila handling this?" he asked.

"Not much better. She didn't sleep another wink last night after what happened. She spent part of it weeping, another part raging, and now is just sitting around depressed. Or at least, she was. Sister Mint kindly prepared a light sleeping potion for her to take, which was good. She was starting to look worse than Rowe and his crew do now."

"So she's sleeping?" Isaiah asked as he led Linus across Great Hall to the spiral staircase.

"Yes, getting some much deserved sleep." Linus replied.

"Good." Isaiah said. "Because our problems may be worse than we first thought."

* * *

Malachi had been sleeping rather peacefully, but that was interrupted when something wet and bitter was forced between his lips. Gagging, and sitting up with a start, the hare spat it out and started coughing.

"Wot the..." he muttered, then looked up and had another jump of fright. "Ah! Sister Mint!"

The healer was giving the young hare a real death glare, which was scary enough...if it weren't the fact that the thing that Malachi had spat out, a small pellet of herbs, wasn't stuck in-between her eyes. Ignoring the quiet snickers from Charles, who sat in a cot across from him in the Infirmary, already awake, Malachi gave Sister Mint a sheepish grin of apology, and carefully peeled the pellet off her face, then moving to sweep a few remaining bits from her fur with his paw before Sister Mint swatted at his paw in annoyance.

"Swallow that." she ordered flatly, jabbing a claw at the pellet of herbs still in Malachi's paw, and then walked grumpily off.

Malachi glanced at the pellet, carefully sniffed at it, and then pulled a face.

"Better swallow it anyway." Charles prompted.

"Or I'll stuff it down your throat, which I would've preferred to have done while you were still unconscious, so I wouldn't have to hear you whine." Sister Mint muttered out loud, working with more herbs at the counter across the room.

Malachi winced, glanced again at the pellet, then, taking a deep breath, popped it into his mouth and quickly swallowed it before he could have much chance to taste it again. It didn't help, but he suppressed any gags and comments regarding that matter.

"Wot happened?" he asked aloud.

"What do you remember happening last?" Sister Mint asked, her back turned to him.

"That bloomin' teacher creature throwin' me into a wall."

"Sounds about right."

"Right, I got that much, but wot happened _after _that?" Malachi prompted. He glanced at Charles, noticing that the young mouse sported a head bandage around his brow. "Did _you _stop him?"

Charles shook his head sadly. "No one did." he admitted. "He got away."

"With Aquila's young Alexander to boot, the poor thing." Sister Mint said with a saddened sigh. "Even though he was a real scamp at times, he should be here, safely within the abbey like the rest of us, and not kidnaped."

Malachi winced again, this time at the fact that despite he and Charles clearly giving it their best, they weren't able to make a difference. There was then a polite knock on the Infirmary door, and it opened without waiting for a reply to admit the abbot and Linus. Isaiah quickly took note that both of the two youth were awake and sitting up and grinned.

"Oh good, you're both awake." he commented.

"Father Abbot, sorry we couldn't stop that flippin' mouse from takin' Alexander." Malachi quickly apologized.

"No need to, you both tried your hardest, and that's what counts." Isaiah said, quickly dissuading any further apologies from the two.

"If it hadn't been for you two, anyway, we might have never found out what the teacher was planning until morning." Linus added, also thankful for the effort the two made.

Malachi beamed a little at this, and Charles hid his face bashfully, not used to being in the center of attention.

"How are they doing, anyway?" Isaiah asked, turning to Sister Mint.

"Oh, they'll live." Sister Mint said, throwing aside a rag she had been using hotly. "Charles had a real serious bump on his head, and his memory of the events from last night are a little foggy, but nothing to serious, and I've bandaged the bump with a poltice that will help the swelling. As for Malachi, there, he faired better. Probably has a small bump on the back of his head, but it's small enough you can't see it. Both had a few small bruises. Gave them a few herbs that'll help with any internal healing needing to be done to play it safe. Get a decent breakfast in both of them, and they can leave."

"And the sparrow?"

"Completely unharmed. Too skittish for me to try and treat anyway, even if I needed to."

There was a moment of silence, then Linus, looking puzzled, came forward with a simple question. "What sparrow?" he asked.

Sister Mint merely pointed exasperatedly up at the rafters of the room, where Blackwing could be seen hiding in a corner, clearly very leery of every creature present in the room.

"It was he that rang the bells in alarm last night." Isaiah explained.

"At my request." Malachi piped up.

"Afterwards, when the worse of the event was over for the moment, we went to find out rang the bells, and found this sparrow flapping around in the belltower. When we arrived, it went into a panicked frenzy, and we had to knock it out for it's own safety."

"It was then brought here, where it woke up, and then it flew up there to hide and hasn't moved or spoken since." Sister Mint added. "Clearly, it's afraid of us. I opened a window and encouraged it to go, seeing it is so afraid, but it doesn't seem to want to leave either." she paused, leaning on the counter. "Anyway, was that what you can up for, Father Abbot?"

"Actually, I came up to see the note that brought these three here." Isaiah said. "I want Linus to see it."

Sister Mint nodded, and pulled out the slip of parchment, and handed it to the abbot. He glanced it over, then handed it to Linus to read. He did, then, furrowing his brow, went to read it again, this time aloud.

"'Understood that teaching failed, take potential follower Alexander and depart from abbey.'" he read. "'QOW has been sent to take care of remaining sinners.'" he looked away from the note. "That's it." he said. "It's not even signed."

"That's not really the issue." Isaiah said. "The issue is what the message implies."

"It's very vague." Linus pointed out.

"But still very clear." Malachi said. "I knew that it was for that bloomin' mouse t' read almost instantly."

"The fact it alludes to teaching gave it away." Charles added quietly.

"Where did you two get the note, anyway?" Linus asked, gesturing to it.

"The sparrow brought it to us." Charles said.

"But not before the stupid bird pushed me into the pond." Malachi grumbled.

"Malachi, don't speak so harshly about an innocent creature." Sister Mint said. "The sparrow probably didn't mean it, and it _did _help you."

"But where did the sparrow get the message?" Linus wondered aloud, glancing up at the bird hiding in the rafters.

"If we could get it to talk, we would probably know." Isaiah noted calmly. "I would presume from the teacher."

"Then where did the teacher get the message?" Sister Mint asked. "Clearly, it's instructions for what he needs to do now from someone else."

"Again, the sparrow might know." Isaiah said. "I, however, do not like what the message says about taking care of 'the sinners'."

"That's us Redwallers." Malachi deduced.

"What do you suppose 'QOW' means?" Linus asked, staring at the curious abbreviation. "Some kind of person?"

"I would think some kind of bally organization or group or somethin'." Malachi muttered.

"Perhaps it is a part of the 'Followers of Gemini' the teacher claimed to be a part of." Isaiah said. "I remember him distinctly stating that they were divided into groups called 'quorums'. The one he belonged to was called the Quorum of Teachers."

"Okay, I get it." Linus stated. "'QO' probably stands for 'Quorum of'. But of what?"

"Whatever the case, they are planning to come here to 'take care' of us." Isaiah said gravely.

"You mean they intend to do battle." Sister Mint said.

Isaiah. "That is my belief." he said. "I wished to see if all of you deduced something similar before I spread the word, however."

"Well, it makes sense to me, and I don't see any harm in it." Malachi said.

"Good, I shall rally our forces, and have them be on guard for a conflict." Isaiah said, turning for the door. "Perhaps if we are well prepared before 'QOW', whatever that is, arrives, we can end this conflict quickly with a mere show of force without shedding much blood."

"What about Alexander?" Linus asked. "Will we keep searching for him?"

Isaiah sighed, pausing. "Linus, if we are going to be caught in battle here soon, it may be better for the safety of everyone to hold off." he said. "Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, we cannot help what we cannot find. And we currently cannot find any trace of your son, or the creature who took him. I hope that when QOW arrives, we can get a few more answers about the whereabouts of your son, but in the meantime, you are just going to have to wait."

He then left. Linus stood there, looking more crestfallen than before, then followed. A moment of silence fell in the Infirmary, then Malachi clapped his paws together, grinning brightly.

"So," he began, "about breakfast..."

Sister Mint rolled her eyes. "I will send for a meal for you both." she muttered, and also exited the room.

Malachi's grin grew bigger, and he settled back on the cot he lay on happily. "S'pose gettin' injured in a conflict is actually turnin' out t' be better than I expected." he said.

He looked at Charles, and noticed that the mouse was looking up at the sparrow, barely visible from his angle. He frowned. "Ignore the bird, Charles, it's not going to be of any help."

"I wish it were." Charles said quietly. "Because it might have a few helpful answers for this."


	24. Chapter 23

Redwall and Angola chapter today (yes, I pulled it off! :D), but actually isn't that spectacular. Blackwing speaks up, Kani and Mathoni exit stage right, but their departure didn't go unnoticed...I have no clue how the next chapter will go. It could be another Redwall/Angola chapter, but there's a high possibility it'll just be more Angola. If it is, guaranteed Redwall chapter after that, and possibly an Alexander centric chapter after that. ;)

Chapter 23

As Sister Mint had promised, breakfast arrived quickly for the two youths staying in the Infirmary, which Sister Mint reluctantly let them eat in bed.

"Just so long as you don't get crumbs or anything of the sort in those bed sheets." she instructed sternly.

Malachi went at his meal with a gusto typical of a hare of any age. Charles, however, quietly sat and nibbled at his breakfast and seemed to be deep in thought. Sister Mint stayed to watch them eat for a little while, then exited the Infirmary to go carry out an unknown chore elsewhere in the abbey. The two youth were left alone and continued eating in silence for several moments.

It wasn't long before Malachi finished his meal, and upon doing so, frowned at his empty plate. He was still hungry. Longingly, he peered over at Charles's tray, which still contained three-fourths of it's food. He licked his lips, and glanced up at the mouse. Charles was peering curiously up into the rafters where the sparrow hid itself. It still hadn't spoken, and had moved little, but Charles seemed very interested with the bird.

Grinning to himself, Malachi carefully began to reach over to take the roll from Charles's tray. At the last moment, however, and without looking, Charles slapped the hare's intrusive paw and moved the roll to safety on the other side of the tray. Malachi quickly retracted his paw, rubbing it, as he glared in annoyance at the mouse.

"Ow." he murmured, then added, "What are you so interested in that bloomin' bird for, anyway?" he asked. "It's not gonna do anythin' if you keep starin' at it like that."

"But it knows something about this whole mess that we don't." Charles remarked, not breaking his gaze. "And besides, it might be hungry for breakfast too."

Malachi thought about that for a few moments, then shrugged. "I suppose it might." he admitted, not having thought about that. "All right, ask it if it wants some food."

Charles scanned the tray of food before him, trying to decide what on it the sparrow might like. Finally, he grabbed the roll Malachi had tried to swipe a moment earlier, and held it up with one paw.

"Um, sparrow?" Charles called hesitantly. "Um, are you hungry? Would you like some breakfast too? Maybe a roll perhaps?"

The sparrow glanced hesitantly down at the mouse. It did indeed look hungry, but it did not come for the roll, or did it speak.

"I suppose not." Charles said, lowering the roll.

"Jolly good, then, I'll just have to eat it." Malachi remarked, leaning over to take the roll.

Charles moved it out of the hare's reach, giving him a glare. "Maybe it just doesn't like rolls." he supposed. He scanned his tray for something else to offer. "Maybe you'd like some cheese instead?" he offered it up at the sparrow. "Or perhaps some of this summer salad?"

The sparrow didn't seem interested in either item, but it was now peering longingly down at Charles tray. Charles looked it over again, wondering what was on it that would interest the sparrow, and realizing he didn't have much left to offer. After a moment of indecision, he grabbed a pawful of candied nuts and held them up.

"Perhaps you would like some candied nuts..."

Without warning, the sparrow suddenly swooped down from the rafters and swiped several of the nuts right out of Charles's paw, startling the mouse. While still maintaining flight, the sparrow then swooped over Malachi, startling the hare, and then flapped back up to it's spot in the rafters. The clear sound of the bird munching on the nuts could be heard for a few moments.

"Mm!" the sparrow proclaimed afterwards. "Sparra like sweetnuts!"

"Sw-sweetnuts?" Charles repeated, getting a little excited. "You like candied nuts, then? W-well, here!" he grabbed the rest of the nuts from his tray. "Have some more!"

Again the sparrow swooped down, grabbed the nuts right out of Charles's paw, and then flew back up to the rafters to eat them. Charles grinned excitedly.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere!" he declared, rubbing his paws together in excitement. "Maybe we can bribe the sparrow into telling us what it knows." then he frowned. "Oh, but we're out of candied nuts."

"No we aren't, Sister Mint keeps a whole bagful in the far cupboard for the Dibbuns." Malachi said, pointing with one claw at the cupboard in question. "Plenty there for the bloomin' bird."

Charles got out of bed and went over to the cupboard to check. Sure enough, the bag was exactly where Malachi said it would be. As he brought it back to the bed, he looked in the bag, and then at Malachi in surprise.

"Aye, it's here all right." he said. "How did you know it was there?"

"I'm a hare, I know where all the secret stashes of food are kept in this abbey." Malachi replied indignantly.

Charles dumped the bag of nuts out on his tray, burying it, and then took a couple and held them up. "You want some more sweetnuts, sparrow?" he called up to the bird.

The sparrow eyed the nuts hungrily, and nodded.

"Then come get some." Charles said, putting the nuts back. "But before you do, let's talk."

* * *

The members of the royal guard stationed at the main street that led in and out of Angola were quickly finding the job rather dull. Their orders were simple enough to follow. They were to monitor every creature that came and went from the village, particularly the mice, search all carts and other vehicles that entered and left the village, bar all oncoming strangers from entering the village until they were given explicit permission to enter from Lord Methusael himself, and question any and all suspicious creatures entering or leaving the village.

However, it seemed that everyone already in the village had little interest to leave, and everybody outside the village weren't terribly inclined to enter. In short, they hadn't had much to do all morning. Finally, though, a cart pulled by two members of the Angolian militia rolled up in preparation of exiting the village.

"Halt!" one of the foxes proclaimed, barring the cart's path. "Who are you, and where are you bound?"

"Captain Moroni of the Angolian militia." one of the two mice pulling the cart remarked. "My companion is called Ammon, and is one of my trusted friends. May we pass?"

"What are you carrying there?" the fox asked, jabbing his stave at the cart loaded with three crates while a second guard boarded the cart to see for himself what was inside.

"Well, seeing that his lordship apparently doesn't have a use for the militia at the moment, we've been trying to help out our fellow mice any other way that we can." Ammon replied. "As such, we're helping to get rid of some old rotten wood a creature had lying around in his woodpile. We're just taking it a little ways out of the village to dispose of it."

The second fox yanked open the cover of the topmost box and peered inside. Wrinkling his nose at the decaying wood he found inside, he closed the box and nodded to his companion.

"You may pass." the first fox decreed as his companion climbed off the cart.

"Thank you." Moroni said as he and Ammon picked up the handle of the cart and started pulling it out of the village. "Have a nice day."

They peacefully pulled the cart out of the village and around the bend in the road, out of the sight of the guards. Once they had gone a some ways from the village, they pulled the cart to one side of the road and jointly clambered into the back of the cart. Picking up the box on top of the stack and unceremoniously tossing it over the side of the cart, they then opened the tops of the two crates that sat under the top.

From within the two crates, Mathoni and Kani clambered out.

Kani looked around in mild surprise. "Wow, it worked." he remarked, jumping off the cart. "My apologies for doubting you, Mathoni."

"Told ye it'd work." Mathoni said proud of himself as he joined Kani. "'em guards 'ad no reason t' suspect there'd be anythin' else in the other crates."

"I must admit, I'm surprised it worked so well myself." Moroni commented, as he and Ammon replaced the tops to the crates. "However did you get the idea for this, Mathoni?"

"I actually 'eard about it in a story I was told once when I was a youn'un." Mathoni remarked. "Figured if it worked there, might as well work 'ere."

Moroni and Ammon exchanged surprised glances at this revelation.

"Anyway, thanks for gettin' us out of th' village, mates." Mathoni said, as he and Kani smoved to stand to one side.

"I'm just glad we were able to." Ammon said, climbing down from the cart to join them. "I was very afraid that Methusael would have managed to block every way to get you two out. He has power over the entire land now. Technically speaking, he can do whatever he wants."

Kani growled. "Methusael, that betrayer." he muttered. "I won't let him get away with this, you have my word on that. Somehow, I will stop this."

"I know you will, your lordship." Moroni said. "I have no doubts that you will."

He and Ammon emptied the crate filled with the rotten wood, then placed the empty crate back on top of the other two. They then turned back to Kani and Mathoni.

"You two had better get going." Moroni said. "The sooner you can get back with help..."

Kani nodded. "Keep things under control for as long as you can, captain." he told Moroni. "We'll be back as soon as possible."

Moroni nodded. "I hope to see you back in the throne where you belong soon, your lordship." he said. "Mathoni, it will be up to you that he stays safe."

"Shouldn't be too difficult, had no trouble gettin' up 'ere when goin' by river, so goin' back should be easy." Mathoni said. "'sides, we're headin' into peaceful country. The hard part will be comin' back an' holdin' up our part of th' deal."

"Which I have all the confidence in the world that he will do." Kani said, patting Mathoni on the shoulder.

"Good luck your lordship." Ammon said, shaking paws with Kani.

"Good luck to you too." Kani said, warmly accepting the shake. "To the both of you."

Moroni and Ammon then took the handle of the cart and with one final goodbye, pulled it away, heading it back for the village. Mathoni and Kani stood watching them depart, then Kani turned to Mathoni for instructions.

"Right mate, er, yore lordship." Mathoni said, turning to head towards the river he had used to arrive in Angola. "This way t' Redwall. We should be get t' the river in 'bout a hour, t' a 'alf hour, then we can just sail downstream t' Redwall. Should be able t' get there in 'alf th' time."

"I can hardly wait." Kani said enthusiastically, actually finding himself looking forward to the journey ahead.

* * *

"Sparra saw 'unny mouseworm give jackbird wormsigns." the sparrow, now known as Blackwing, explained. "Sparra Blackwing fly with jackbird, chase-like. Jackbird not know! Came to wormhouse! Much-big! Jackbird give wormsigns to otterworm. Otterworm give more wormsigns to jackbird. Jackbird fly to mouseworm abbey, give to 'unny mouseworm! Both leave-um quick-like! Sparra catch-em wormsigns, give 'em to wormbeasts!"

And with that, the sparrow began to happily begin pecking at the pile of candied nuts before him, eating to his heart content. Charles leaned back, and began pulling at his whiskers in thought. Malachi just looked blank.

"Wha..." he began, then shook his head, ears twitching. "I didn't understand hardly a word that bloomin' bird said! It merely sounded like nonsense t' me!"

Charles, however, was thinking differently. "The bird's name is Blackwing, and he saw the teacher, which he describes as being funny-looking, give a jackbird a written message. I'm not sure, but I think a jackbird is Sparra for a jackdaw. Anyway, he flew after the bird, chasing him, but being careful not to be seen. They eventually arrived at a large building of some sort, where the jackdaw delivered the message to an otter. I'm presuming the otter read it, and then wrote a new message, the message we found, and sent the jackdaw back to Redwall to deliver it back to the teacher. The jackdaw left upon doing so, and upon reading the message, the teacher also promptly left to go carry out his new orders, leaving the message where Blackwing could get at it. He _did _get at it, and he brought it to us, probably thinking that we would be the best creatures to see it. And he was right." he said all of this without pausing once to think.

Malachi raised his eyebrows. "You understood all of that?" he asked.

"Er...yes." Charles replied, puzzled. "You just have to understand that the sparrows refer to nearly all creatures who can't fly as worms, and that they speak in very clipped and quick terms."

"Quick is right, I couldn't keep up with that bloomin' bird." Malachi said, shooting a look at the sparrow, still eating the nuts happily. "How can you do it?"

Charles shrugged. "I can't see how you _can't_." he admitted.

"Yet another thing you can do well that I can't, Charles." the hare glanced at the bird for a moment. "What else do you think it might know?"

"Probably not much, or it would've told us."

"Hmm, true. Probably can't even read, otherwise I'd ask if it knew anything more about the message than we do."

"I'll ask." Charles turned to the sparrow. "Sparra Blackwing, you know-um wormsigns?"

Blackwing shook his head. "Sparra no read-ee wormsigns." he said simply.

Malachi was now flabbergasted. "You can _speak _it too?" he asked in amazement.

Charles blushed slightly from the attention. "I'm probably not very fluent." he admitted. "But it's pretty easy to repeat once you understand how it sounds."

"Is there anything you _can't _do Charles?"

Charles thought about it for a moment. "I can't juggle." he offered lamely. "But we shouldn't be focusing on that."

Malachi sighed. "You're right." he said. "And if that bird's right about where these religious extremists are coming from, and the place they're staying at is as big as that bird claims it to be, then we could be seriously underestimating their numbers." he sighed. "Something tells me that a mere show of force isn't going to be enough to drive these creatures away."

* * *

As Mathoni predicted, he and Kani arrived at the river within an hour's time. Upon arriving at the bank of the gurgling body of water, however, Mathoni realized he couldn't remember exactly where he had left the canoe. Remembering that he had hidden it with shrubbery, he worried if he could actually find it again. But after wandering along the bank, looking, he realized he didn't need to worry.

Somebody had found it for him.

He and Kani gathered around the sunken canoe, riddled with arrows, and a large hole bashed into it's hull.

Mathoni sighed as Kani knelt down to examine the canoe. "I guess I didn't hide it well enough." the otter muttered.

Kani yanked one of the arrows free from the canoe and studied it. "These are Angolian shafts." he noted. "But there has been no word of your boat being found by anyone." he paused, fingering the shaft. "I think Methusael is trying to take precautions to make sure you can't leave Angola, Mathoni, at least, not easily."

"Sink me rudder, wot in th' world does he want me for?" Mathoni asked, furrowing his brow.

"He has accurately guessed you have sided with that side that is against him." Kani said, throwing the arrow away and standing. "Whatever the case, this canoe isn't going anywhere."

"Tobias and Illia are gonna kill me." Mathoni murmured, staring at the ruined boat. "They really liked this canoe."

They stood staring at the canoe for a few moments.

"Well, I guess we're just going t' 'ave t' take the long way an' walk, mate." Mathoni finally said decisively, turning away from the wreak and setting off for the western horizon. "If we follow the river, we shouldn't 'ave any problems gettin' t' Redwall."

"So wait, that's it?" Kani asked, mildly surprised at Mathoni's quick change in plans. "Just...accept this is unsalvageable and go to plan b?"

"There's a sayin' where I come from, yore lordship." Mathoni said, turning back to Kani. "No use t' cry over spilt milk."

Kani shrugged, and followed Mathoni. "I suppose I can't deny that logic." he admitted as they both walked off.

* * *

Some hours later, however, well after they had gone, another creature arrived at the spot. She bent over and studied the pawprints in the dirt, poking at them with her claws and sniffing at them. Finally, she growled in frustration and straightened upright, shouldering her bow. Deciding she knew exactly who had passed through here, the female rat walked off to head back to camp so she could send a message to her superior of her discovery...


	25. Chapter 24

Angola-centric chapter, though I _tried _to fit in a brief blurb about Redwall. Oh well. Anyway, Adah's loyalties again put to the test, we meet the alluded to vermin, and a friendly chat between Mathoni and Kani that I'll be building on in later chapters. Oh, and if some of the names I list in this chpt. seem familiar...well...they should. ;)

Chapter 24

As the afternoon wore on, the late afternoon light shone brightly into study, traveling through the room's impressive window. Standing in front of the window, looking out it at the land of Angola beyond was Methusael. He wasn't so much enjoying the view at the moment, but thinking. He had new information that was both good and bad, and there were several ways he could choose to respond to it.

He knew how he wanted to respond to it. But he wanted a second opinion first.

At that moment, there was a knock on the chamber door. Methusael glanced back at it, half-grinning.

"Enter." he called.

The door opened, and Adah entered calmly. The vixen hadn't taken recent events well; Methusael suspected that the strain all of it was grated against her conscience. Her face seemed to be perpetually grim and depressed now, and she seemed altogether worn down. She probably needed time to bounce back from the ordeal, but at the moment, Methusael couldn't afford that.

He wasn't lying when he said he needed her help.

"Yes, milord?" Adah greeted flatly upon her entry, shutting the door behind her. "What is it you wanted?"

Methusael couldn't help but grin at the fact that Adah was already referring to him as the lord of the land, but it was short lived. He picked up a piece of parchment that was lying before him on the desk, and held it up.

"The message," he began, "that I received from my hired paws. I've been giving it a lot of thought, I think that I need to take action upon it."

Adah frowned. "I disagree."

"I know you do. Which is why I'm telling you first."

"Why, so you can rub it in? Cause me more grief that I've already got?"

"So bitter, Adah..."

"I've done several things that I'm not proud of recently, Methusael." Adah gave the fox a glare. "Because of you."

"I appreciate it, nonetheless."

"That's not my point."

"Nor is it mine. Adah, if my sources are to be believed, Kani is getting away."

"Then let him. Isn't that what you wanted? For him to go away?"

"If I let him go, he could just make things worse than they already are."

"Methusael, you promised me you wouldn't hurt him. That was our deal."

"The deal was that I wouldn't hurt him if I could _help _it." Methusael cooly, turned to face Adah. "Already, my plans have hit far too many hitches for my liking. From the beginning, I never planned to hurt Kani, you should know that. I merely wanted to...force him...out of the way. But plans changed. The rebellion occurred unexpectedly. Threw a wild card into the mix. Kani reacted accordingly, and he wasn't where I needed him to be when I took over. In fact, it forced me to act sooner that I would've liked." he started towards Adah. "It's bad enough that I have to deal with the rebellion. I don't need whatever Kani will bring down upon me on top of that."

"That wasn't our deal." Adah pressed bitterly, maintaining eye contact with Methusael. "Kani is out of the way, you got what you wanted. Now please, just leave him alone!"

"I can't do that!" Methusael said, confronting her. "Not until I'm _sure _he won't come back to haunt me!" he suddenly turned his back to her and walked back to the desk. "He may have left to gather help to retake Angola from my control, and I can't permit that!"

"You don't know that!"

"_Exactly _why I need to take action, now, before it's much too late." Methusael sat into the chair behind the desk. "I'm giving the order to take Kani down."

"If Kani dies, then you loose me too." Adah said determinedly.

"I wish it didn't have to come to that."

"But it will. And you know it's no empty threat, either. You said it yourself, you need me, for whatever accursed plans you have left! So long as it stays to that, you have me under _your _control! But if you go after Kani, you'll loose that control."

"I wouldn't let you get away with it."

"I don't expect you to. I wouldn't underestimate the damage I could do before that, however."

Methusael narrowed his eyes at her, but couldn't reprimand him. She had every right to act like this, even to try and blackmail him like this. And she did have some good points, and he really _did _want her under his control still. He couldn't afford to loose it, not now.

She knew too much.

He reluctant to let her have her way, though. "Kani left the land for a reason." he finally said after a long pause. "Neither could know with one hundred percent certainty what that reason is. _I _think he's gone to seek help, to rally together an army to use to take back Angola and settle the score we have between us."

"And I say you're wrong." Adah said bitterly. "You _know _how close we were. I know you recommended against it, but it happened anyway. But because of it, I know Kani better than you certainly do. I can have a pretty good idea what that reason might be."

"Oh?" Methusael didn't look convinced. "And what do _you _think it is?"

"That Kani sees that he's been beaten. We all knew how much confidence he had lost in himself being the lord of Angola. All of this will only subtract from it more. He won't have anything left to use against you. I'm honestly surprised he's even still sane, the grief for him must be terrible." At this point, Adah allowed herself to shed a tear for Kani before regaining her composure and continuing. "My point is that Kani won't have any will left to fight you. The only thing left for him to do other than turn himself in is to get far, far, away while he still has the chance and start life anew, and seek peace."

Methusael still didn't look convinced. So Adah added the clincher.

"According to your own sources, Kani left heading west." Adah looked levelly at Methusael. "Towards Mossflower Country. A land we know to be a peaceful land. This not only _supports _my theory, but do you really think Kani would head there to rally an army? An army out of peaceful woodlanders who probably wouldn't know how to hold a sword?"

Methusael paused, not having considered this. "But," he said, having one last point to make, "this is all only theoretical."

"Maybe so, but the argument still carries." Adah said with one final glare.

Methusael glared back, not liking her manipulating him like this, but knowing he couldn't resist it without consequences. "Fine." he said finally. "Have our messenger spread the word. But the moment I discover that things are going otherwise to your claims, Adah, I _will _take action. Regardless of what you do in response."

Adah nodded. "Understood." she said. "Therefore, seeing that there's no _real _reason to continue discussing this any further, I bid you good day, your lordship." And with an unreadable grin, she turned and exited.

* * *

Out beyond the southern borders of Angola resided the vermin camp. It was a simple thing, composed of only a campfire, some blankets used for bedding, some food and other supplies, and a smattering of some personal belongings, and nothing more. These vermin believed in traveling light. Their line of employment demanded such a thing. Besides, if they needed to move, they could be moving again within moments.

Besides, there wasn't much in the group. No more than three creatures. One was a rat, the only female in the group, another was a ferret, and the third was a weasel. They were good enough at what they did that they didn't need any more creatures than that. They had a reputation as such, hence why their employer hired them on the spot, the moment he found out about them. He had been quite pleased with their work thus far. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't mutual.

The group was waiting on a response from their employer before acting again, and he was taking his dear sweet time about it.

"If he doesn't hurry and send a response, we'll won't be able to catch up with that stupid creature." the ferret remarked hotly as he cooked a plucked woodpigeon on a spit over the fire.

"I'm sure he has his reasons for the delay." the rat said from across the campsite, working on making new arrows, identical to the kind the Angolians used. "Perhaps he simply has been too busy, and hasn't gotten around to the matter yet."

"Hardly." the weasel said with a snort, he simply sat on a tree stump, doing nothing but thinking. "The reason for the delay is because he is seeking the opinion of another, Aurora."

The rat, named Aurora, glanced up at the weasel. "And what makes you so sure of that, Grim?" she asked hotly.

"Simple logic." the weasel, Grim, remarked. "Our employer the knows the seriousness of the creature who left the land. He can't afford to wait, for the very reason Sais stated. Wait too long and he'll get away. The only logical reason for the delay, then, is that he is asking another for his opinion."

"Okay, but who's and why?" Aurora asked, curious.

Grim merely shrugged.

"Aw, I don't care about any of that." the ferret, Sais, said, lifting the woodpigeon out of the fire and blowing on it. "All I care about is whether or not we get paid, in full."

"Our employer promised our fee, doubled." Aurora said, turning back to making arrows. "He will fulfill that promise." she paused. "Even if we have to use force."

"Ha-ha, aye, wouldn't mind seeing that twit's blood on my blade." Sais remarked with a chortle.

"There is more to our reason for being than that, Sais." Grim remarked calmly.

"Oh, come now, Grim, you can't like that creature anymore than me." Sais said, biting into the woodpigeon with a frown.

"He's right, though, Sais." Aurora stated. "We are mercenaries. Our job is to do what we're asked, no questions asked. Regardless of what our employers think of us. And regardless of what we think of them. Furthermore, we bear the names of vermin warriors of old, who lived many seasons well before us, and fought as valiant warriors that we as vermin should be proud of. Some even gave up their lives for it. _That _is what we are here to do."

"Carry on their legacy, I know." Sais mumbled, nibbling at the woodpigeon still. "Still, can't a creature have the right to an opinion?"

"Somebeast is coming." Grim suddenly announced without looking up.

Sais and Aurora turned in time to see a cloaked creature enter the camp with his head down. The cloak successfully hid the creature, never really revealing who he was, nor his species. The vermin didn't care about that, however, but what the creature did. He was their messenger delivering messages to them from Methusael himself.

"Finally!" Sais said, racing over to the messenger to grab the parchment he carried in his paw. "I'm tired of sitting on my tail waiting for an answer! _Now _we'll actually get to do something!"

Moments before he could grab it, though, Grim suddenly appeared and snatched it deftly from the messenger. The messenger then bowed and departed. Sais gave Grim a glare.

"Hey, I was gonna get that!" he wined, trying to reach over Sais's shoulder to grab the parchment.

Grim simply kept it at arm's length from Sais. "I will read the note." he said flatly, and then knocked Sais aside.

"So what's it say, Grim?" Aurora asked, setting aside the arrows she was making and stepping over.

Grim didn't respond while he read the lettering on the parchment. "It would appear we are to let the fox go." he said.

"What?" Sais asked, surprised. "I thought the whole reason we were _doing _this was to get rid of that fox our employer wants so desperately dead. Kanis...or whatever his name was."

"Kani." Grim corrected flatly. "And we have orders to instead stay here and let him go."

"Does he say why?" Aurora asked, also puzzled.

"No." Grim stated, tossing the parchment into the fire to destroy the evidence. "But he does assign us to begin looking for possible Angolian rebels so we can begin eradicating them."

"Well, good, I think I have a few ideas about some of those mice." Aurora said.

"Better than nothing, I suppose." Sais agreed, picking up his sword. "We ready to go, then?"

* * *

That evening, having only covered about a fraction of distance that they would've had they could've gone by foot, Mathoni and Kani made camp beside the side of the river. While Mathoni prepared a simple meal using some of his rations, Kani sat at the side of the river, chucking stones into the water.

"We're going too slow." he grumbled. "We could've been halfway there by now if we had taken the boat."

"Mebbe even further, considerin' that we' would've been goin' downstream." Mathoni said with a shrug, unconcerned as he poured the soup he had prepared into a bowl and bringing it over to Kani. "Anyways, it's not so bad. We'll get there eventually."

"Hmm." Kani grunted, sipping at the soup, then glancing into it. "Hotroot soup?"

"An' watershrimp." Mathoni added brightly before swigging his bowl of soup.

"Ah, that explains why I have the sudden urge to drink the ocean to soothe my burning mouth."

"Nah, ye wouldn't want t' do that, yore lordship, much too salty."

Kani didn't comment, and instead drank a few pawfuls of river water before falling silent for a few moments. "Mathoni, what's Redwall like?" he asked suddenly.

Mathoni paused to think. "Hmm, well, yore lordship, it's an abbey." he said with a shrug. "It's big, it's red, an' it has walls." he shrugged. "That's Redwall."

"I don't mean in appearance, I can more or less picture that on my own." Kani said, grinning at the otter's simple logic. "I mean...what is it like to live there?"

Mathoni grinned. "Well, yore lordship, I doubt ye could find a happier place." he said. "We're all kind off...one big family in a way. Most of us are just creatures who 'ad a bit of bad luck in life, an' come t' Redwall t' start over. Some 'ad no 'omes t' speak of before they arrived at Redwall, whereas now they do. We welcome everybody, we 'elp everybody, we're just all around nice creatures."

"And if you're proof of that, then I don't doubt it." Kani said.

"An' that's just th' beginnin' yore lordship. It's not just the creatures that are good, but everythin'! _Especially _th' food! Wait 'till ye try 'un oof our feasts. Mmmm! Ye wouldn't be hungry again for _days, _the food is good!"

Kani kept on grinning. "Sounds wonderful." he remarked, then sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't plan on staying for anything like a feast. I intend to arrive, gather the forces I need to overtake Methusael, then take back what is rightfully mine." he sighed. "Though I wish it didn't have to be that way. Redwall sounds wonderful."

"It is, yore lordship." Mathoni agreed with a nod.

They were silent for a moment.

"Mathoni?" Kani began again suddenly. "Please call me Kani and not 'your lordship'. I'm not the lord of anything at the moment, and I never liked the title anyway."

Mathoni nodded. "Okay yore lord–er, Kani." he replied, with a grin. "Maybe I'll just call ye me matey."

Kani grinned back. "That'd be fine." he replied, and he meant it.


	26. Chapter 25

Another day, another chapter. :) Predominately Redwall-centric chapter, but has a little Angola blurb at the beginning that was included last minute as I enact upon a sudden brain spark. :) Tension builds. Next chapter will be one you've all been looking forward to. ;)

Chapter 25

The vermin had spent a rather unproductive day discreetly spying on the village of Angola from afar, trying to determine which of the many mice that inhabited the land might be rebels. They began having several possible candidates, with more and more being added to their mental list with each passing moment, until Sais finally remarked in impatience that they should "just kill 'em all and be done with it."

As morbid and bloodthirsty a comment as it was, there was truth to it. It didn't take long for them to see that just about all of the mice could be potential rebels. Aurora suggested that they narrow things down by pinpointing only the potential rebel leaders for now and work their way up from that, but Grim didn't buy into the idea, reasoning that surely the leaders would be smarter than that and would be lying low as much as was possible, and wouldn't be trying to draw attention to themselves.

By nightfall, they were forced to admit that they had made no progress at all, and reluctantly called it a day, disappointed at their lack of success, and annoyed that they spent their afternoon sitting on their duffs doing nothing except watching mice. They had a brief and light supper, made a few final preparations for what tomorrow might bring, although it was unlikely it would bring much, and then settled down to sleep.

Aurora was unaware just how long she had been asleep when she woke up again, but it had to have been several hours, for when she awoke, the darkness of night had settled in, stars were twinkling brightly overhead in the sky, and the chill of night had layered itself over the camp. Annoyed at being awoken, the rat rolled over to face the culprit and saw the hooded form of the messenger standing over her, barely visible in the poor lighting, gently prodding the rat with his footpaw. When he saw that he had Aurora's attention, he slightly handed her a piece of parchment then silently turned and left again, vanishing completely into the mist of darkness enshrouding them.

Aurora watched him go in puzzlement, then turned her attention to the message in her paw. Like all of the messages before, this one had been folded so that it's contents couldn't be seen, but unlike past messages, this one was sealed with wax, like a letter would be. Written above the seal in Methusael's usually painfully nice handwriting were the words "for Aurora's eyes only".

Aurora's first thought was a feeling of impressment, not having thought that Methusael had taken the time to learn the names of his hired help. Her second thought that quickly followed was why her? Curious in addition to puzzled now, she pried the seal on the parchment open, unfolded the message, and began to read.

When she finished reading the brief message, she was grinning. She shot a glance at the sleeping forms of Grim and Sais, and grinned again at the thought of how jealous they were both going to be when the found out in the morning. Like she really cared, though.

"Change in plans, boys." she said to herself as she prepared for the challenge that now unexpectedly awaited her.

* * *

Miles away, Abbot Isaiah stood in his study, solemnly looking out the window at the abbey grounds below. It was hard to tell this late at night, but Isaiah could tell that they had gone from peaceful land used for play, enjoyment, and the growing of crops, to a fort, armed with whatever weapons the abbey had to offer, in preparation for a probable battle. It both saddened and disturbed Isaiah to see his abbey in such a state.

"Tell me I have done the right thing." he murmured aloud.

"Of course you have." Martin remarked, stepping up behind him. "You may not like it, but you have done exactly what any abbot should have. Thought about the safety of the creatures in this abbey..."

"...and take steps to ensure it's continued existence." Isaiah finished softly.

"Exactly." Martin replied, nodding.

"I would rather do it other ways, however." Isaiah remarked.

"And you know that I agree with that. But in this case, we both know that it won't be enough."

"So then, is what we have enough now?"

Martin was silent for a moment. "One can never be prepared enough, Isaiah." he remarked.

* * *

Dawn brought a thick layer of fog over the land, hiding it under it's unrevealing shroud. From the ground, nobeast could see much further than three feet in front of them. However, the walltops of Redwall Abbey were just tall enough to poke through the blanket of fog and into clear weather. From the walltops, one could see as far as the horizon and back, and anything else that might poke up from the blanket of fog as well. Anything under it was invisible from sight.

This worried Rowe, but he was trying hard to not let it show. As he patrolled around the ramparts, he gave words of encouragement to all the other creatures standing guard on the walltops, most of them from his own crew of otters. They all accepted the praise with smiles, and likewise assured Rowe that everything would work out, but he could tell they were thinking the same thing as him.

Eventually, when he was satisfied that everything was in order, he turned to walk down the staircase that led down to the hidden abbey grounds below, allowing himself to be submerged in the thick fog.

And boy, was it thick.

"Sink me rudder." Rowe muttered to himself, swatting his paw at the swirling mist that surrounded him as he tried to make his way down a staircase he could barely see.

Eventually, though, he arrived on the grounds without event, and started across the grounds towards the main building of the abbey. Or so he hoped. He couldn't see it, so he just instinctively picked the direction he needed to go in and headed there. He also reasoned that with the main building being so big, it would be hard to miss it.

Apparently he did anyway, because after a few minutes of walking, he found himself at the edge of the abbey pond.

"Sink me rudder!" he said again, this time in frustration. "This fog is goin' t' be somebeast's undoin' if it continues like this. In fact, it might just be..."

He trailed off suddenly when he heard noise from nearby. Curious and puzzled, he made his way towards it. As he got closer, he could make out the scampering of paws and the clattering of objects, which only got him more confused. Eventually, he came close enough to make out voices, and to see distant shapes begin to form within the thick mist.

"Oh, blister me barnacles, mate, never thought ye could get th' upper paw like that."

"Never underestimate me, sis, I've got a whole mess o' tricks up me sleeve."

"'Course, though, ye still haven't beaten me yet, so it may be a moot point."

"Hardly. I still intend t' win this."

"Not if I do somethin' like...this!"

"Yipe! By the claw, Illia, ye aren't gonna play it that way, are ye? Well, never mind, didn't work, now did it?"

By this point, Rowe had reached the two creatures and saw that it was Illia and Tobias, armed with what appeared to be swords, and were, despite the thick fog, were dueling each other. Flabbergasted, Rowe stopped to watch for a few moments in silence until finally, cringing as Illia swung a harsh blow at her twin brother's head that Tobias was fortunately to be able to dodge, he broke his silence.

"Have th' pair of ye gone _mad_?" he exclaimed in surprise at the two.

Tobias and Illia both stopped their duel and turned to face the Skipper of Otters.

"Oh, Skipper Rowe." Tobias remarked, planting his sword, tip first, into the ground to prop it up. "No, actually, I feel as sane as always."

"Which is questionable at best." Illia quipped teasingly, earning her a nudge in the ribs from Tobias.

"Yes, but...dueling? In _this _weather?" Rowe motioned to the fog the enveloped them. "And are those _real _blades yore usin'?"

"By the fur, Rowe, of course they ain't, 'em only practice swords." Illia commented, tossing hers to Rowe to examine. Sure enough, it was nothing more than a wooden practice sword, not even weighted properly to simulate the weight of a real sword.

"Still..." Rowe began, handing back the sword, "...'tis dangerous in this weather, even with false blades. Ye can 'ardly see three pawsteps in front of ye, ye could hurt yoreself on somethin'."

"'Course not, mate, we've done this loads of times." Illia remarked.

"See, it used t' get really foggy all th' time in winter back 'ome in Southsward." Tobias remarked. "Back then, we were still trainin' t' use these blades, so regardless o' th' weather, we went out and trained anyway."

"Got pretty good at it, too." Illia added with a proud grin.

"Adds a bit of a challenge t' the duel, too, as, like ye said, Skip, ye can't see very far in front of ye." Tobias went on. "Ye could lose sight of your opponent pretty easily."

"Which means ye can sneak up an' get th' jump on 'em." Illia grinned cruelly. "'Course, that's only assumin' ye haven't lost sight of yore opponent yoreself."

"Hmm." Rowe said, paws on his hips. "Well, I still don't know if it's a good idea. An' anyway, shouldn't there be bigger things ye should be worryin' about? Like the possible threat of attack?"

"Oh aye, that's exactly why we're out 'ere." Illia said. "We're refreshin' our swordplay."

"Not that it needed it, mind." Tobias added.

"Aye, I buy that." Rowe said, with a nod, "But with this fog..."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, the sun's come out, it'll clear up this fog in short order." Tobias said, retrieving his practice sword and twirling it around. "Ye just wait an' see."

"Speakin' of attackers, how are things goin' out on the walltops?" Illia asked.

"Well enough, I suppose, haven't seen any trouble at all, but I dunno how much longer that'll last." Rowe said. "If we are goin' t' play host t' a bunch of enemy warriors, they'll probably turn up 'ere sooner or later. Wot I'm really worried about is this fog. Th' enemy could sneak right up t' this abbey under it, an' we'd never know it until too late. So I really hope ye're right when ye say it'll clear up soon, Tobias."

"Oh it will, Skip, ye just wait an' see." Tobias remarked, balancing his practice sword by it's tip on his claw.

Eventually, Tobias was proved right as the fog slowly began to thin out, allowing sunlight to shine through. Visibility improved drastically, and Rowe could finally begin to make out familiar landmarks on the abbey grounds. From the walltops, it looked like the fog was melting, it's impenetrable surface shrinking away towards the ground until the ground itself started to become visible again.

That's when the trouble started to arise.

Tobias and Illia were just about to restart their duel now that they had watched the fog all but dissipate while Rowe watched, when something suddenly came whizzing down from the sky and landed with a thud in the ground between them. It was an arrow, an extremely slender one designed for speed and range. At the base of the arrowhead, an all-too familiar blue sapphire was embedded into the arrow.

Rowe knelt down and pulled it from the ground and examined it in alarm. He then looked up and exchanged looks with Tobias and Illia, who likewise looked alarmed and worried. One of the otters stationed on the wall hurried to the edge and called down at them.

"Skipper Rowe!" he called. "Ye better get up 'ere!"

Rowe hurried for the stairs, Tobias and Illia trailing in his wake. Quickly arriving at the walltops, they looked down and were shocked at what they saw.

"By the fur..." Tobias muttered.

Surrounding the abbey on all sides was an army of vast proportions, containing the widest variety of creatures, male and female, that the Redwallers had ever seen, composed of both vermin and woodlander alike. They were all dressed identically in copper-colored armor with a blue gemstone embedded in the center of every breastplate, and all of them were well armed with weapons both long range and short range.

They well outnumbered the Redwallers.

"This isn't good." Rowe murmured. "Tobias, go an' wake th' abbot. He needs t' see this."

"Right." Tobias said and hurried off to carry out the order.

Rowe again surveyed the army surrounding the abbey. "This isn't good." he repeated.

It was then that one creature in the army below stepped forward to stand apart from the rest. A female otter, she acted similarly to the teacher in the way she carried herself. She was dressed and armed like the rest of the army, but wore a blue cloak in addition to it, making her stand out from the rest. Rowe surmised she was the leader of the army, or at least one of them.

"Are you th' leader of this lot?" Rowe called to her, pointing a claw at her.

"Yes, I am." the otter replied. "Are you the leader of the creatures in this abbey?"

"No, but I speak for all of those creatures when I say that we don't want ye 'ere!" Rowe called back.

"Perhaps there is still time to remedy this situation peacefully, then." the otter said, peering intently up at Rowe. "You know our reasons for being here. You can see the numbers the Quorum of Warriors contains, and if you really wish, we can demonstrate our power as well. You cannot challenge the power of Gemini and his followers and survive."

"So that's it then?" Illia asked with a snort. "We disagree t' listen t' th' lot of ye, an' so ye just doom us t' be slaughtered simply because we don't believe ye?"

"Only if you continue to resist to join our numbers." the otter said, pointing a claw up at them. "Fortunately for you, Gemini is very courteous. Now that you've seen what you're up against, He is willing to give you all one more chance to join our numbers. You have until sunset to decide."

"An' if we decide we don't want ye?" Rowe challenged.

The otter glanced at Rowe almost slyly. "We cannot allow the wicked to survive." she replied simply, and with that, turned her back and rejoined the numbers of the army.


	27. Chapter 26

So...whatever happened to Alexander? ;) More details revealed about the mysterious cult, and actually has given me a few ideas for the future regarding these guys. Which is good, because I worried I wasn't going to have enough material for them. :)

Chapter 26

The catacomb of caverns and tunnels felt abandoned today, but it was of little concern to the mouse as he wandered through them, seeking the main chamber. Finally, he arrived in the circular cavern, lit with the usual torches of blue fire. The massive sapphire that sat embedded in the far wall. As mouse entered, the sapphire began to glow. Upon reaching it's peak, the mouse respectfully dropped down to one knee and bowed, awaiting to be addressed.

He did not have to wait long.

"Arise, and speak, teacher." Gemini remarked calmly.

The teacher rose. "Hallowed Gemini, I have returned from preaching your holy word to the wicked inhabitants of the abbey." he spoke politely. "As I am sure you are aware, it did not go well."

"I have sent the Quorum of Warriors to dispose of them." Gemini remarked coldly. "They made their choice, and they chose poorly. Do you bring any other news?"

"I do, righteous one." the teacher continued. "I have brought with me a youth; a young squirrel by the name of Alexander Scrypt. He is the only creature I could find at the abbey that showed any willingness to learn of your teachings. I have brought him here to be taught further in a more righteous environment, as you requested of me. He is young still, however, and his understanding is very limited."

"This is good." Gemini remarked. "There is still time to direct him to a path of righteousness and help him repent of any wickedness his sinful elders have wrongfully taught him. I wish that you begin teaching him the lessons for walking upon the path of righteousness immediately, starting from wherever you see fit. He must also be integrated into our society quickly. Where is the youth now?"

"Asleep." the teacher replied. "I kept him drugged during the duration of the journey, to keep him from resisting. As I said, he does not fully understand our ways as of yet. When he awakens, and is nourished, he should be ready to begin the lessons that await him."

"Very good." Gemini said. "I am calling you, teacher, to be the one to watch over this youth, and to look after him."

"I am honored, hallowed Gemini." the teacher said, bowing again. Upon rising, he continued. "If I may ask one more question for thy eternal wisdom to answer?"

"You may, teacher."

"The youth's memory of his former home will still be fresh in his mind, and he will be inquiring of it when he awakens. What shall I tell him regarding this matter?"

"The truth." Gemini replied bluntly. "This is his home now. He will never again see his abbey again, nor will any of the rest of us. Redwall Abbey no longer exists in my eyes."

* * *

Alexander awoke slowly, feeling a sense of confusion sweep over him, his mind feeling clouded, and his thinking befuddled. His eyes still felt drowsy and heavy, but sensing that something was wrong, he struggled to stay awake long enough to figure out what it was and determine if it should be something he needed to worry about.

He rolled over sleepily, twinging as he felt a dull ache in his neck, and rubbed at it, unsure what he had done to it to make it hurt. Running his paw over the spot, though, he could feel that it was swollen slightly, not enough to be of concern, but enough to reveal that there had been a open wound there, albeit a very small one.

Frowning, and feeling only more puzzled, Alexander looked around. He was lying in a simple cot made with pure white sheets in a small room made of stone, with the only entrance being a heavy wooden door that was currently closed and latched. There was small window in the room with the drapes pulled over it, and sunlight could be seen streaming in under the door, indicating that there was a another window on the other side, and gave the room a slightly warm and friendly appearance.

But it wasn't home. This room didn't look like a part of Redwall Abbey, didn't smell like a part of the abbey, it didn't _feel_ like part of the abbey.

Growing worried, Alexander sat up and climbed out from under the warm covers he had been tucked into, trying to recall how he had gotten here. But he just couldn't remember. Last he recalled, he was being tucked into bed for the night at Redwall by his mother like always. His memory felt blank after that.

Wanting to find out where he was, Alexander stood up, and noted that he had been stripped down to his white undergarments composed of a simple white, short-sleeved shirt, and matching shorts. The usual green habit and sandals he would wear over that like most Redwallers both young and old would wear were gone. Of course, judging from his own memory, he wasn't likely to have been wearing these things anyway, as he had just gone to bed. Instead, he would've been wearing simple nightclothes.

Either way, he shouldn't be in just his white undergarments.

Alexander wasn't too worried about that at the moment, however. It was warm enough in the room that he wasn't getting a chill. So he went to the door and tried to open it. The latch wouldn't budge, though. It was locked. Alexander tried a little harder to open the door, but to no avail. Sighing, he looked around the room again, and went to the window, and pulled back the drapes, letting the early morning light in. Squinting at the bright light, he looked outside.

It was hard to tell from this angle, but it seemed that he was inside a tall building that hugged the side of a cliff. This cliff overlooked a forest of trees. It _looked _like it might be Mossflower woods, but Alexander had no way of telling on his own. One thing was clear though, and that was the fact that home didn't seem to be nearby.

Crestfallen, Alexander felt his pointed ears droop in dismay. Why was he here and not at the abbey, and why couldn't he remember coming here? Were his friends and family here too?

He sat down on the floor, curling his bushy tail around him and sat mournfully there for awhile, having little else to do. Eventually, however, his nose suddenly detected the scent of yellow cheese somewhere in the room, and his stomach rumbled suddenly, making him realize just how ravenously hungry he was. Following his nose, he found a tray of fresh food sitting on a nearby shelf that he had somehow missed earlier. Grabbing it and setting it on the floor where he sat and gobbled down the food hungrily, his troubles momentarily forgotten.

He was just finishing eating when the latch on the door suddenly slid open, and the door itself was calmly pushed open. It was the teacher, entering with his usual grace and demeanor, except now he seemed to have been bathed and refreshed since Alexander last saw him. He was not carrying his trademark stave this morning either, and instead the mouse had his paws folded in the sleeves of his robe, like Alexander had seen Abbot Isaiah do from time to time.

"Oh." Alexander remarked, wiping his mouth with the back of his paw, licking a crumb from his whiskers in the process. "It's you." he suddenly remembered seeing the teacher in his bedroom on the last night he remembered being at Redwall, although it was a dim memory. "Did you bring me here?" he asked, questioningly.

"I did." the teacher admitted, kneeling down before Alexander. "Your confusion is understandable. But, in time, you will come to understand why you are here."

"Where _is _here?" Alexander asked.

"Somewhere away from your former abbey. Away from the wickedness it spawned."

"Are my parents here?"

"No."

Alexander's brow wrinkled. "Will I see them again?" he asked, his voice cracking. "Will I see anyone from home again?"

The teacher hesitated for a moment to reply. "Alexander, this will be your home from now on." he said. "You needn't think more of your life from before."

Alexander stared at the mouse for a long moment. Then, without much warning, his eyes suddenly teared up and he broke down and cried. The teacher allowed the little squirrel to continue on for awhile, allowing Alexander to get his sadness and grief out of his system. When the youth's sobs started to cease and become the occasional sniffle, the mouse began speaking again.

"The path you are about to face, Alexander, will not be easy." he said. "But the rewards you will eventually reap if you follow it will be worth it. I am here to help you through this, but you must be willing to let me do so." a pause. "Do you understand?"

Alexander stared at the ground and sniffled a few times, clearly torn over his choices.

"At least allow me to show you what it will be like." the teacher pressed softly.

Alexander sniffed again and wiped his nose with his paw. "I s'pose." he mumbled.

The teacher grinned, a rare sight. He unfolded his paws from his sleeves, revealing a bundle of cloth held with them.

"We will begin with this." he said. "These are new clothes for you to wear."

Alexander took the bundle half-heartedly and looked at it for a moment. "What were wrong with my old clothes?" he asked.

"You will wear these instead while you are here." the teacher replied, standing. "I will allow you to change in private." Then he exited.

* * *

A few moments later, the teacher led Alexander out of the room, now dressed in a sky-blue colored habit like the one the teacher wore. Quietly and sulking, the young squirrel followed the mouse out into the hallway outside his room, lined with windows on one side, and doors leading into more rooms similar to the one Alexander found himself in. About halfway down this hallway, however, a set of stairs branched off and led downward, and into the cliff itself the building was embedded into.

It led into a fairly impressive entry way, although at the moment, it was vacant. It reminded Alexander somewhat of Great Hall at Redwall, only wider, and contained the nearly free-standing staircase jutting up from the middle. It also lacked the familiar stained glass windows, and the room was instead lit with normal lanterns. Behind the staircase was a pair of large doors that probably served as the building's entrance, and reminded Alexander again of home, and felt another wave of homesickness wash over him.

By this point, though, sheer curiosity at whatever it was the teacher wanted to show or tell Alexander was the only thing that was keeping him going. It was no secret that Alexander had been immensely curious of the mouse and his very foreign ways and manner of thinking, and the youth was starting to suspect that was why he was here. He was forced to admit that he was wondering if the teacher had actually had what he was offering, these "rewards" he had spoken of that would offer him a better life.

Alexander somehow doubted it. What life could be better than one spent at Redwall Abbey?

Nevertheless, it seemed he didn't have much choice in the matter for now, and submissively allowed the teacher to guide him deeper into the building, which surely had to be deep within the cliff by now. As they went, they passed no one, save one creature, an adult dormouse, that dressed and behaved so much like the teacher, it was almost like seeing double. Slightly unnerved by this fact, Alexander found himself distancing himself from the teacher somewhat as they walked on, as if suddenly apprehensive of the mouse.

Eventually, they arrived in a hallway with many little rooms branching off of them, with groups of varying ages of youth sitting in each one, all of them dressed as Alexander now was, being taught by a fully grown creature, dressed like the teacher himself. It was some kind of school. After passing several of the classrooms, the teacher stopped at one of them, and led Alexander into the room.

Like the rooms before, this one was filled nearly to the brim with apparent students. These were all around Alexander's age. They were both male and female, and their species varied significantly. Alexander could promptly identify six to seven different species in this room, with a couple more he couldn't recognize. Some of these species Alexander knew to be vermin, but they weren't anything like the vermin Alexander had heard so many bloody tales about. They were clean, well-groomed creatures, that stared straight ahead at their teacher–a female adult hare that also behaved like Alexander's escort–and seemed so...blindly determined to learn that they didn't look up when Alexander and the teacher entered, nor pay any kind of attention to them.

In fact, none of them did. The class continued onward like they weren't even there. It was like they were blind to everything except what they were supposed to be here doing; learn. Alexander wasn't quite sure to make of it, and again felt unnerved by this odd behavior. Was everyone here like this?

The teacher cleared his throat suddenly to announce his presence. He only got the attention of the hare instructor, who turned to face the mouse and politely fell silent and allowed him to speak.

"I have brought a new student to begin learning of our ways immediately." the teacher explained calmly. "His name is Alexander. He has come from a place of wickedness and has much to learn."

Alexander took offense at the fact that Redwall was described to be a "wicked" place, something he didn't think to be true, but instinctively held his tongue. Something told him that pointing this fact out wouldn't make things any better for him.

The hare instructor bowed politely. "Very well." she replied, and took Alexander's paw to lead him to an empty desk on one side of the room. The teacher silently turned and left while the hare sat Alexander at the desk. "Sit here, please, Alexander, and pay apt attention." she instructed. "You may struggle at first, but I am sure that if you work hard, you will catch on."

Then, like the interruption had never occurred, the hare instructor continued with her teaching while the rest of the class listened. At first, Alexander just fidgeted uncomfortably. He didn't really want to be here, and listen. He had just woken up and found he was in a strange and unfamiliar place that was presumably far from home, surrounded by creatures, some that would normally be considered foes by his elders back home, that acted and behaved in extremely odd ways. He didn't want to sit and pay attention in a class like a good lad. He really wanted to go home.

Part of him even wanted to rebel against all of this, but something told him that wouldn't do him any good. Besides, for the moment, these creatures, no matter how oddly they behaved, _were _treating him rather well, and Alexander figured it would be better for him to support that rather than get them mad at him, for whatever reason. He didn't want to do it, but he decided that maybe it would be a good idea to play along for now, at least until he had a better idea of how things stood.

And, he realized suddenly, he knew his friends and family at Redwall had no doubt noticed he was gone by now. They were probably out looking for him already. Eventually, they could find him here, and rescue him. He just had to wait.

Eventually, as the lesson drew on, Alexander found himself listening to the hare instructor, mostly due to the fact that he had little else to listen to. She was talking about some lesson in the teachings of Gemini. By the time she had finished with that story and had begun another, Alexander felt lost. Apparently, neither the instructor or the teacher had been lying when they said that things would be confusing at first. Because they were. The moral of the story seemed to be lost on Alexander, and aspects of the story seemed contradictory to what he had learned at Redwall. The lessons he learned at Redwall seemed easy to follow anyway, yet another reason to long to be home.

He started looking around at the other creatures in the class, mostly out of boredom and curiosity. They didn't seem to confused. In fact, they seemed to hang on the instructor's every word. None of them seemed lost like he was. Twisting around, Alexander looked at the creature sitting behind him. He was a squirrel like Alexander, but of a different breed, bearing a coat of ash-grey fur that Alexander had never seen on a squirrel before. He made eye contact with Alexander briefly, his face revealing nothing, then he motioned with his head to the instructor, silently urging Alexander to pay attention, then focused back on the instructor. Alexander frowned, and turned back around in his seat.

On his desk was a piece of parchment and a stick of charcoal. Alexander had more or less ignored it up until now, knowing that what he wanted to do with it (doodle with it, or write some silly ditty) probably wouldn't be approved. But he didn't know what else he should do with it, and he was terribly bored and was still overall lost and not understanding what was being taught. So he sat and messed with both, trying to entertain himself.

He doodled a little picture of two warriors fighting each other, then a picture of his family, and then of Redwall. Starting to feel hungry again, he then started drawing a picture of a feast until he stopped halfway through as that only made him hungrier still. Finally, he started working on a little verse of rhymes and poetry only a few lines long that described Redwall. Alexander was in the middle of trying to figure out a rhyme for "beautiful" when suddenly a little scrap of parchment flew over his shoulder and landed on his desktop.

Alexander looked at it for a moment, and then picked it up, feeling the parchment between his claws. Turning, he looked at the squirrel sitting behind him for an explanation. This time the squirrel did not make eye contact, however, and instead focused on the instructor like before. But Alexander was positive that the squirrel was the one who had tossed the scrap of parchment on his desk.

After a moment of hesitation, Alexander unfolded the parchment, and saw a brief and to the point message had been written upon it.

"You are not alone. There are others who are like you."

Alexander looked up from the note, then back at the squirrel behind him. The squirrel ignored him, but Alexander sensed a friendly presence coming from him now. Looking around the class, he suddenly felt a little bit of optimism now. Clearly, not everyone were as weird as they acted and looked. Some, although Alexander couldn't know which, were like him. Apprehensive of being here, and wanting to go home.

He was not alone.


	28. Chapter 27

A chapter that was going to bounce all over the place, but I got carried away with a few points, and ended up not fitting it all in. Ah well. The Redwallers discuss, Mathoni pushes himself too far, and Aurora has a purpose.

Chapter 27

Abbot Isaiah glanced out the window of the abbey and out at the walls that surrounded it. The stone structures easily hid the surrounding army from view quite well, but that didn't change the fact that they were still there. He sighed, and turned to face the creatures that had gathered here in the room, an abnormally large unused dormitory that sat in the front upper levels of the abbey's main building, right over the door that led in and out of Great Hall below them.

Normally, in times of crisis such as this, they all met in a large room, such as Cavern Hole or Great Hall. But in light of recent events, Skipper Rowe had been granted permission to use to turn Great Hall into a battle preparation room, and was riddled with weapons, tools of war, and members of his crew preparing for the fight they were all pretty confident would come. And Cavern Hole was busy as Friar Machaerus has put his kitchen staff to work taking stock of what supplies they had in preparation for a siege, and had been using the room to do that, in favor of the added space.

Besides, one couldn't have a clear view of the abbey walls and it's grounds from either room, and currently, Isaiah felt best if he could keep his eyes on it in the event of a sudden attack.

He sighed before speaking. He turned to Rowe. "Any chance we can talk our way out of this peacefully?" he asked softly.

Rowe gave the matter some serious thought. He really did. "I don't think so, Father Abbot." he finally admitted with the shake of his head. "I mean, we certainly could try, but I doubt they'll even listen t' us anymore."

"And all because we don't believe in things like they do." Linus grumbled across the table. "Just because we're _different_."

"If these bloomin' creatures really were as good as they claim, they'd be more tolerant of that." Machaerus said with a snort, the hare chef leaning back in his chair grumpily. "All because that flippin' mouse that stopped at our gates. I still say we would've been better off if he had just gotten rid of him when we had the chance."

"On the contrary, Machaerus, I think that would've only accelerated this whole matter, and would've landed that army that's sitting at our gates here that much sooner." Isaiah remarked wisely. "And possibly would've brought their vengeance upon us sooner and more forcibly than now. I think playing host to that mouse for the short time that we did at least enabled us to delay the inevitable for a brief while, and perhaps it is because of the fact that we were somewhat hospitable to the teacher that we are being giving this time to prepare before they attack now."

"But we don't have Alexander." Linus pointed out flatly, still bitter about that subject.

Isaiah was silent for a moment. "Whatever the case, we can't change what's already happened." he said. "What we need to be focusing on now is what to do now."

"An' 'ow t' survive longer than sunset." Tobias remarked bluntly.

"I hardly think this situation is that grave, Tobias." Sister Mint commented.

"I dunno, Sister Mint, ye probably 'aven't seen that army's numbers." Tobias argued. "They well outnumber the warriors in this abbey."

"Which brings up a matter I was hoping to avoid." Isaiah continued. He sighed. "I need to know what creatures are in this abbey who are willing to help fight. As you said, Tobias, our usual number of warriors are well outnumbered by that army out there, but fortunately, we may have time to get a few new recruits trained. I hate to have to put even more lives in this abbey on the line, but..."

"...but, Father Abbot, at the moment, all of our lives are on the line." Illia remarked, putting the matter into perspective.

"Father Abbot, maybe this isn't the right time t' bring this matter up," Machaerus began, "But in light of recent events, I've been wondering...if it's time that a new warrior of Redwall be selected."

Silence fell. Everyone looked at the hare for a moment, then all eyes turned to the abbot. If anyone might know the answer to that question, it would be the abbot. Isaiah had clearly anticipated this, however, and had his answer ready.

"Don't think I haven't given the matter some serious thought since I awoke this morning when I found out there was an army sitting at my gates." Isaiah said. "But I believe the time to select the next warrior of Redwall is not now."

"How can you be sure, Father Abbot?" Sister Mint inquired.

Isaiah eyes glazed over for a moment as they focused on something only they could see at the moment. Standing at the end of the table, behind everyone, was Martin, solemnly overlooking the meeting. He and the abbot had already discussed the matter.

"Call it a hunch." Isaiah replied simply, and that satisfied Sister Mint for the time being.

"I think the friar's suggestin' we get 'elp, though." Tobias said. "An', consider th' circumstances, that might actually be a good idea."

"But who are we going to go to for help?" Sister Mint asked him.

"An' how are we goin' t' _get _that 'elp?" Illia asked her twin brother hotly. "That army has us surrounded from all corners. We'd never get a messenger through 'em."

"Besides, I do not know who we could go to for help." Isaiah reasoned. "Southsward is too far away. The Long Patrol are reportedly away on a mission and aren't expected to be back until this autumn. And the Guosim, being the wanderers they are, would be difficult to track down at this time of year. And I fear we wouldn't have the time to rally that kind of help either way."

There was a brief moment of silence as everyone thought about that for a moment.

"So, shall me an' me crew go 'bout rallyin' other abbeydwellers t' help fight?" Rowe inquired. "I'm sure there'd be plenty that'd be more than willin'. Some basic trainin' is probably all that they'll need, and we can do that right in Great Hall, it bein' just big enough."

Isaiah hesitated for a moment. "Yes." he said finally, nodding. "But don't force anyone to fight, or make them think they _have _to fight. If they don't want to fight, for whatever reason, then let them be."

"They may not 'ave that choice, Father Abbot, but I'll do as ye say." Rowe said.

"And I want all the young kept indoors." Isaiah added. "No sense endangering them, too. And everyone else, keep doing what you've been doing." he paused, looking everyone over. "Unless there's anything else anyone else wants to add, I believe that's just about all there is to discuss at the moment."

Everyone else had nothing else to add, so they all rose and moved to depart. As Rowe brushed past the abbot, the abbot stopped him for a moment, gently grabbing his arm.

"Rowe, those you do recruit, please, try your hardest to make sure they stay safe." he pleaded softly to the otter.

Rowe paused for a moment, the placed a paw softly over the abbot's. "No promises, Father Abbot." was his only solemn reply. "I fear Tobias might be right to worry if we'll last until tomorrow."

He then left, leaving the abbot alone in the room. The elderly mouse sighed, and lowered his head, closing his eyes in frustration.

"You do have to give them credit for handling this situation so well. Lesser creatures would've panicked and caused more trouble."

Isaiah looked up to see Martin standing beside his chair, looking down at him, smiling warmly. The abbot shook his head.

"Rowe's right, though." he pointed out. "We're out numbered, and have no where to go, nor anyone to turn to. We won't surrender to that army of followers's wishes, so all we can do is simply wait." he sighed. "Martin, tell me you're watching over all of us."

Martin gave him a surprised look. "You think I'm not?" he asked.

Isaiah gave him a hopeful look. "Are you telling me not to worry, then?"

"Well, I didn't say that." Martin admitted. "Isaiah, not even I can guarantee anything. And as much as I'd want all of you to live happy, peaceful lives, sometimes that is simply not possible. This is one of those times."

Isaiah was silent for a long moment. "Will you tell me what will happen in the end, now?" he asked.

"No, and for the same reasons as before." Martin remarked. "However, I _do _have a plan for all of this, and you shouldn't underestimate the capabilities of this abbey. All that I ask from you is to have a little faith."

* * *

"I must admit, I've never been this far west before." Kani remarked as he and Mathoni trudged further through the woodlands, following the River Moss. He looked around at the surrounding land. "It's very pretty."

"I think we've just crossed into Mossflower Country, but I don't know that for sure, matey." Mathoni commented, wiping at his brow. He glared up at the beating sun for a moment, then leaned against a tree.

"Something wrong?" Kani asked, stopping beside the otter.

"It's hot." the otter breathed, panting heavily. "Swelterin', actually. I'm roastin' in this heat."

"Really." Kani said, giving the otter a look. "You sure you just aren't tired of walking? It's not _that _hot out here."

"Yes 'tis." Mathoni panted.

"Hardly." Kani said, taking in a deep breath. "It's a little warm out here, but nothing too intolerable, particularly not with a canteen of water and a river nearby to refill it in." he jabbed a paw at the running water rushing past them.

Mathoni glanced at it longingly. "Looks nice an' cool." he remarked. "I'd like t' take a swim, but..." he sighed, flopping his body against the tree weakly, "...I'm too hot an' tired. I don't 'ave th' energy."

Now Kani was growing worried, realizing that the otter was sweating profusely, and really did seem exhausted. And, the fox noted, the otter's speed in his pace had been dropping rather fast over the past few minutes leading up to this moment.

"Mathoni, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, checking the otter over.

"Just hot." the otter replied. "An' weak. Little dizzy." he glanced at the fox. "Aren't you?"

"No." Kani replied, placing a paw against the otter's forehead. "But you _are _very hot. Like you're running a fever."

Mathoni paused to think about that for a moment, still panting heavily. "Ye mean I'm comin' down with somethin'?" he asked.

"I don't think so." Kani said, lifting up his canteen he carried around his neck and regarding it for a moment. "Mathoni, how often have you been drinking from your canteen?"

"Drinking?" Mathoni asked, and stopped to think, squeezing his eyes wearily as he did so. "I...I...dunno. Been awhile."

Kani took the otter's canteen for a moment, and saw it was still full. "Have you drank _anything _from this canteen?" he asked.

Mathoni let himself slide down the side of the tree and to the ground. He made a shrug. "I was...savin' it." he said. "Y'know, rationin' it."

"Well, _that's _your problem." Kani remarked, kneeling down beside the weary otter. "You're supposed to conserve your water, yes, but you aren't supposed to let yourself die from thirst!"

"I ain't dyin' from thirst." Mathoni said defiantly.

"Not _yet_." Kani remarked, rolling his eyes. He moved the otter into some shade and shoved both canteens into his paw. "You need to start drinking, now. In the meantime, we'll just have to stay here and let you rest and recover."

He then plopped himself on the ground, annoyed, back turned to Mathoni. Mathoni took a long drink from a canteen then looked at the fox.

"Sorry for holdin' us up yore lordship." he apologized. "Guess I got carried away with th' savin' of th' water, an' not lettin' meself get enough."

"It's not your fault, you meant well enough." Kani said, glancing back at the otter. "Though it was kind of pointless. It's not like we're in a desert, Mathoni. There _is _a river right over there."

Mathoni glanced back at it. "Aye, I honestly didn't think much about that." he admitted.

"Probably a little bit my fault too, to be honest." Kani said. "We haven't stopped to rest all morning ever since we broke camp. Probably should've said something."

"Ah well, we live an' learn." Mathoni said, drinking deeply from the canteen again. "We won't let that 'appen again."

"Yes, we won't, but this has still slowed us up, delaying our arrival at your abbey." Kani remarked, looking out at the western horizon. "I don't know if we can afford to loose any more time."

Mathoni looked at Kani for a long moment. "Ye're worried for everyone back in Angola." he stated.

Kani nodded. "Particularly Captain Moroni and his followers." he said. "Methusael's looking diligently for them, and I know how resourceful he can be, that traitor." he shook his head. "I hope they can last long enough for us to bring help. If not..." he shook his head. "I don't know what will become of Angola."

There was silence for a moment. Then Mathoni placed a weary paw on Kani's shoulder. "We won't let that 'appen mate." he promised.

Kani grinned. "I'm sure we won't, Mathoni." he replied.

* * *

The site of the camp had been a simple one. Two creatures had arrived, sat down, had a small fire, prepared a meal, (something with watershrimp by the smell of things) then laid down on either of the fire to sleep. In the morning, they had both left, heading west. They had been long gone by the time another had arrived, but the distance between them wasn't as great as was originally expected.

Aurora straightened up and grinned, turning to head further west. Her targeted prey was this way, and quite likely still close. It was entirely possible that she could catch up with them before the day was out, if she kept up this pace. Which would be demanding. She had taken little time to rest, and hadn't had much to eat. She was exhausted, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She had she orders, and she was going to carry them out, and therefore pressed on at the same pace as before.

She had a fox to slay.


	29. Chapter 28

Angola-centric fillerish chapter that wouldn't have fit into last chapter. Mostly characterization and filling a few loose ends, but some minor plot advancement. Next chapter will focus on Alexander some more. ;) Anyway, Adah rubs in Methusael's problems, Methusael makes a bluff, an update on our vermin mercs minus one, and Moroni has a close call. :)

Chapter 28

Methusael stared out the window at the village of Angola for a moment, frowning, then turned around to face the current ranking officer of the royal guard. "You _really _haven't found any trace of the rebels?" he asked in amazed frustration.

"None, milord." the officer, a tall red fox by the name of Juniper. "We only seem to be turning up empty leads. And none of the mice seem to have any solid information about who might be a rebel, or might not be. At least, if they do, they haven't been telling us the truth."

"Well, of course they aren't!" Methusael snapped. "They're probably looking out for each other, trying to protect each other from what they're perceiving as danger."

"Which is almost ironic, for only a couple of days ago, they were about ready to turn on each other, and rattle out whomever they thought to be a rebel." Adah remarked, who sat on a bench on one side of the room, listening while she waited to have her own chance to speak with Methusael. "But now, they've rallied together."

"For all we know, they all may be in on this rebellion now." Juniper agreed.

Methusael was silent for a long moment, again looking out the window to regard the village he now ruled over. "Possibly." he admitted finally. "But if they are, they're asking for civil war."

"A war they could win, with their numbers." Adah remarked flatly.

Methusael ignored her. "I don't want to start that kind of conflict, however." he said. "If they force me to, I will, but only when I have no other choice." he turned to Juniper. "For now, keep doing what you've been doing. Report to me if you have anything new to tell me."

Juniper nodded, and departed. Adah lazily watched him go, appearing to be uncaring about Methusael's entire situation. Which was probably true, but Methusael also sensed sarcasm in her body language.

He sat down at his desk with a frustrated sigh. "Go ahead and say it." he said, looking at her. "Go on."

"Who said I was going to say anything?"

"You were thinking it, I can tell."

"All I was thinking was that things weren't going as you had planned." Adah gave Methusael a contemptuous glare as she said this.

"There you go, you said it." Methusael said, rubbing at his eyes.

"Not so luxurious being lord after all, hmm?" Adah asked, rising. "Of course, the fact that you forced your way into the position might have something to do with it."

"All right, I get the idea." Methusael said, cutting her short with his own glare. "I can handle it though. If those mice don't submit to my rule and the royal guard isn't turning up more on the rebellion here soon, I _will _begin using force to find them."

"You mean more force than you're using already?" Adah asked, mocking shock, then added on a different tone, "Ever stop to think that maybe you're going about this the wrong way, and that _forcing _the mice to submit won't work?"

"Now you're trying to criticize me." Methusael noted as he sorted through a stack of parchments.

"I'm trying to give you advice. That was part of our agreement, why I've even still here. You wanted my input."

"Well, I don't _want _your input on this matter." Methusael countered.

"Nor any other matter, it seems." Adah remarked, folding her arms. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have sent a message that sent one of your mercenaries away on a secret mission."

Methusael paused, ears flattening as he scowled at the vixen. "You weren't supposed to read that message."

"I didn't." Adah replied, pulling out a folded piece of parchment and tossing it onto the desk. "And neither did your other two mercenaries, but they're still wondering where their friend went."

Still scowling, Methusael took a moment to read the message. As Adah had stated, Sais and Grim were inquiring as to where their third member in their group had gone, and seemed rather determined to get an answer. Methusael glanced up at Adah.

"Where did you send Aurora?" Adah demanded.

Methusael paused for a moment to consider his answer, picking his words carefully. "A delicate matter came up outside of Angola that can threaten my plans." he explained. "She was the best choice to deal with the matter, so I sent her to take care of it. Simple as that."

Adah didn't buy it, though. "You sent her to seek out and kill Kani, didn't you?" she accused, her icy tone being cold enough to chill the blood of most creatures.

It didn't faze Methusael, though. "No." he replied innocently. "Of course not."

Adah's next look made it clear she didn't believe him, though.

Methusael sighed. "I sent her to find Kani, yes." he admitted finally. "But only to watch him and monitor his movements. I'm just guaranteeing that Kani really _will _do what you claim he will and stay away. Surely you must see the logic in that?"

Adah's glare narrowed further still.

"I gave the order for her to kill him _only _if she found evidence that he intended to rally an army and return to try and forcibly take back Angola, _not _before." Methusael added without needing more prompting. "That is within the terms of our agreement, and therefore, it _will _be satisfactory."

Adah was silent for a long moment, then leaned forward to press her face into Methusael's. "You're treading upon thin ice, Methusael." she warned. "You had better hope, for your sake, that you don't fall through."

And with that, she turned and calmly walked out, Methusael watching her go. Once she was gone, he leaned back in his chair and allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction.

"That's, of course, presuming that you ever find out that I did fall through, Adah." he remarked to himself.

* * *

"So what's it say?" Sais asked anxiously, peering over Grim's shoulder as he read the new message that had just arrived at the camp. "C'mon, tell me!"

Grim shot the younger ferret an annoyed look. "Can't you read it yourself?" he asked tonelessly.

"Course I can." Sais stated in his defense. "Just...not proficiently."

"Meaning you can't read."

"Yes I can! Look, I can read that word, and that word, and that word, for instance. It's just a few words that I don't know, like...uh...that one."

"That would be 'importance.'"

"Ah! So that's what is says!"

"To answer your original question, Aurora has been sent to deal with an important matter that has come up." Grim said, rolling up the parchment and tossing it into the dying embers of their fire to burn. "She went alone. When she is done with that matter, she will return here."

"So...where did she go?" Sais asked curiously. "Did it say?"

"It does not." Grim replied. "Apparently, we aren't to be concerned with the matter. In the meantime, we are to follow our original orders."

"So...wait...just the two of us?"

"So it seems."

"So...we working together now?"

"Yes." Grim said, rising and turning to walk out of camp. "Unfortunately."

"Brilliant." Sais remarked, also less than enthused. He hurried to catch up with Grim, and placed a paw on the weasel's shoulder. "Well, if it's just going to be me and you, we might as well make the best of it, though, right?"

Grim looked at Sais, then at the paw still resting on his shoulder. His eyes narrowed. "If you wish to live, you will refrain from touching me." he said bluntly.

Sais quickly removed the paw, and stopped, allowing Grim to walk on alone. He sighed.

"Can't wait for Aurora to come back." he muttered under his breath.

* * *

The banging on the door caught Neph off guard, and he jumped, sloshing his drink on the table. He turned to look at the door in alarm, unconsciously holding his breath. Quickly, he cautiously went to a window and peeked out to see who was at the door. When he saw who it was, he felt his fur prickle in alarm. Quickly, he went back to the back of the house, stomped twice on the closed cellar door, but not loud enough for the creatures waiting at the door to hear it, waited a moment, then hurried back to the door, smoothed down his fur and forced himself to look calm, and opened the door.

Standing there outside were two male foxes from the royal guard, in uniform and armed as they had been since the rebellion had started. They held their staves, the only weapons they had drawn at the moment, at ease at the moment, however, and carried a friendly attitude.

"Yes?" Neph greeted the pair.

"Good afternoon, Mister..." the first fox began in reply.

"Neph."

"Yes, good afternoon. As you know, we've been doing searches of homes within the village for any traces of the rebels that are at large. Not to say that you're guilty of anything, but we would like to search your house at this time, if we may."

"By all means, c'mon in." Neph said, stepping to one side and brightly inviting the foxes into the house.

The two stepped inside and promptly started looking around the first room of the cottage as Neph politely tried to strike up a conversation with them. As the cottage was fairly sparsely furnished, it didn't take long for the two foxes to finish there and move on to the next room, and on and on until they reached the back room of the house.

One of them noticed the cellar door embedded in the floor, and tapped it with the butt of his stave.

"We will need to look in your cellar as well." he informed Neph simply.

Neph forced a grin and tried to remain calm. "By all means!" he said in a happy tone, and opened the cellar trapdoor himself motioning the two foxes in. He watched as they clambered down the small set of stairs into the cellar, then quickly propped up the trapdoor and followed them.

Inside, the cellar was void of any life. All it contained were a few empty baskets that would normally be used to carry freshly picked fruit in the fall, a barrel of some unknown liquid and a few flasks next to it, and several selves filled with many jars filled with bottled foods, including a pair of shelves that were carved and embedded right into the earthen walls. The two foxes surveyed the cramped cellar for a few moments while Neph fidgeted behind them. Finally, they looked at one another, nodded, and turned to leave.

"Thank you for your cooperation Mister Neph." the first fox said politely. "We are finished here, so we'll bid you good day and move on."

"Very well, gentlebeasts, more than happy to help out." Neph said brightly, and with unconcealed relief that the foxes didn't take much notice of.

He escorted them out of the house, waved as they walked off, then closed the door and continued to watch them leave for a few moments. The moment he had judged they were far enough away, he dashed back to the open cellar and climbed down into the room, where Moroni was already moving jars aside to climb out of the shelf he had hidden himself on.

"Thank goodness those two didn't think to look on these shelves for rebels!" Neph exclaimed, as he helped move bottles

"Thank goodness you've got enough bottles to hide one behind." Moroni said with a bemused look as he climbed out of the shelf.

"Thank goodness this shelf is deep enough to hide two creatures." Ammon remarked, who was hidden on the shelf behind Moroni.

Moroni laughed as he helped his friend climb off the shelf after him. Neph managed a grin.

"We're lucky that when I _made _that shelf, I wasn't thinking and made it too deep for my purposes." he remarked, then shook his head. "But Moroni, that was still too close for comfort."

"Yes, but it couldn't be helped, and we knew it was going to happen sooner or later, and I'd rather it happen now with only two rebels doing something rebellish than during a meeting with all of the rebels." Moroni replied, not looking nearly as worried as Neph and Ammon were. "And anyway," he continued, pulling out a sheet of parchment from his pocket, "we were about done here anyway, going over the list of possible creatures who might join our cause."

Neph took the parchment and scanned the list, having not seen it for himself yet, as he had to stand guard. His eyes widened slightly. "Wow, there's enough here to double our numbers." he murmured.

"And some of them have already verbally expressed interest in joining." Ammon said, excited at this fact. "The fact is that Methusael taking over has actually _helped _our cause, as many of the Angolians have turned to be more supportive of us."

"They see why we're fighting." Moroni said.

"Then, if we mice can see it, then why don't the foxes following Methusael?" Neph asked.

"Because they're getting benefits from it, or at least think they are." Moroni replied. "Whereas, we mice were promptly and immediately shunned, and suddenly left out in the streets to fend for ourselves, so to speak. It's made many creatures realize that things aren't right here, while the foxes seem to be blinded by the fact that Methusael has promised to solve all of their problems, and thus far has seemed to have made progress in their eyes."

"In that case, wouldn't it be possible to just stand to one side and wait for the foxes to discover that Methusael can't fulfill his promises?" Neph asked.

"We could, but we'd run the risk of Methusael eventually catching us off guard." Ammon said.

"And besides, I intend to make it clear that we are serious about our cause, and will fight for it." Moroni said, leading Neph back to the cellar door. "A strike right where Methusael isn't expecting it."

"A strike?" Neph repeated, surprised. "First I've heard of it."

"That's because you're the first I've told." Moroni admitted. "I've been thinking about it for the past couple of days, and now I think it's time to seriously consider it. Ammon and I will discuss a few ideas for a little while. You stand guard, and then I'll fill you in later."

"All right." Neph said, exiting the cellar. "But...what kind of strike are we talking about?"

"I'll let you know when I come up with one." Moroni said, and closed the cellar door behind Neph.


	30. Chapter 29

More on Alexander as promised. Few more tidbits revealed about the Gemini religion, but that's not the chief subject here. Sorry for the slight delay in getting this chapter up, had a hard time staying on track apparently. :p Unless something drastic happens, or I get a sudden and unexpected idea that I want to do first, next chapter will focus primarily on Redwall and will feature action. In fact, we're likely to see more and more action after this, gradually building up from there. :)

Chapter 29

By mid-afternoon, Alexander had decided that these creatures that followed "Gemini" were extremely odd creatures. After trying to listen to what was being taught to him for the better part of the morning, that was the only thing Alexander felt he actually got out of it. Most of the rest was beyond his understanding, and simply went in one ear and out the other.

But he did learn a bit more about the backstory and the history of this mysterious religious cult, at least, as they understood it. Apparently, it all started several seasons ago when a roaming, traveling mouse who had encountered hard times and was looking for shelter to stay the night when he found the caves, it's walls covered with blue sapphires both big and small. Seeing that these caves went very far underground, the mouse became curious, and wandered down them.

Eventually, he found a cavern that apparently contained a massive sapphire of great size, and it was with this sapphire that the mouse first met Gemini. "Gemini", claimed to be an all powerful spirit-like being that ruled over the earth and controlled it as he saw fit. He blessed and supported all who believed in him and followed him, and forsake all who were wicked, communicating to them through means of the blue sapphires, which were heralded to be sacred. Unfortunately, at that time, all the creatures upon the world had rebelled against Gemini and had forsaken him, and forgotten him, and had traveled down "unholy paths of wickedness".

The mouse was the first to "return" to Gemini and begin following his teachings in many, many, untold seasons (so many, that Alexander had the suspicion that the time Gemini's followers fell away was a time that well predated Redwall). As a result, Gemini bestowed many blessings upon that one mouse, and he quickly became the new leader of the religion, and was sent out to gather new followers and bring them back to the path to righteousness. Now, seasons later, well after that mouse's demise of old age, the religion was prospering.

Alexander understood all of that, and respected that. In all honesty, when one only heard that much, the followers of Gemini seemed like perfectly innocent creatures who were just following what they believed in, and felt it needed to be shared with the rest of the world.

What Alexander _didn't _understand, particularly as this affected him more than the rest, was the religion's apparent policy of awarding every potential convert that flat out rejects their teachings with death. It was repeatedly stated that "all who are truly wicked and reject the teachings of Gemini must be killed." But that, in Alexander's mind, seemed to go entirely against what they were trying to teach, the very principle of it all.

If Gemini was as really as "caring" as they all claimed him to be, he wouldn't be carelessly condemning so many innocent creatures to death.

Would he?

But there the puzzle lay, and Alexander felt like he was missing several key pieces to it, and couldn't see the full picture to it yet. Emphasis on that "yet". Because, fortunately, Alexander knew exactly where he could look to find those missing pieces to his puzzle.

Or, at least, who he could ask.

As noon rolled around, the peculiar classes finally let out for a break, and all the students were instructed to go and get their lunch at the cafeteria, and all filed out of their classrooms (simultaneously, Alexander noted, like it had all been timed) to head in that direction. Alexander went with them, following them in the direction he presumed to be the cafeteria. Breakfast seemed like days ago to Alexander's protesting stomach, which was used to being able to snack frequently in-between meals, and was quite ready for another meal, but while Alexander was hungry, he was mostly heading in this direction because this was the direction the young grey squirrel that had sat behind him was heading.

Convinced that this creature was a potential friend in a sea of strangers, Alexander tailed him down the hall, gripping the note he was equally convinced had come from the squirrel tightly in his paws. Not for the first time, he read the words inscribed upon it:

"You are not alone. There are others who are like you."

Alexander certainly hoped there were. He felt extremely out of place here, like how he felt when he joined a meeting of elders in the gatehouse at Redwall one night because he couldn't sleep. As he was the only youth in a group of fully grown adults, Alexander had felt extremely out of place then, not unlike how he felt now.

Only this was much worse.

"Alexander!"

Alexander very nearly froze, recognizing the voice that spoke, but forced himself to keep walking, and to pretend that he didn't hear. The teacher was somewhere in the crowd behind him, no doubt trying to get his attention for some reason, but why did he want Alexander now?

"Alexander!" the voice called again, and Alexander could hear the mouse's staff tapping the ground as he moved towards the young squirrel.

Alexander started to panic, realizing that he still had the note in his paws. It felt very incriminating at the moment. He quickly sought a way to get rid of it, but without losing it or destroying it. His habit had no pockets. Tossing it on the floor risked being seen, and with all the footpaws marching around, Alexander feared it would be lost. He considered hiding it in his mouth, but the realized that would ruin the message, and would render him unable to speak while it was there.

Granted, it was a mere scrap of parchment with a message that really didn't say much, but it had become immensely important to Alexander, and he didn't want to lose it. Not yet. Not until he had learned more about what the message was implying.

Finally, in desperation, Alexander merely clenched the message tightly in one paw, and folded his arms in his sleeves, hiding the message from immediate view. At this point, the teacher caught up with Alexander, and moved to stand in front of the youth. If he suspected anything, he didn't show it in the slightest.

"I was calling to you." The teacher said calmly. "Did you not hear me?"

Alexander shook his head no. A lie, but an relatively easy one. Again, if the teacher suspected anything, he did not reveal it.

"I merely came to ask you how you were doing before I allowed you to continue to lunch." The teacher continued.

"Oh." Alexander said, and shrugged truthfully. "Okay, I suppose. It's...a new experience for me."

"Did you learn much?"

"A...thing here and there. But mostly...mostly I just felt entirely lost."

"I expected this." the teacher said, and paused to think. "Perhaps a different tactic will be required for teaching you, but we shall see." he nodded to Alexander. "Very well. Carry on."

He then walked off, leaving Alexander where he was standing. Relieved, Alexander pulled out the note and looked at it for a moment, glad to still have this sole connection to possibly normal creatures. He continued down the hallway to follow the other students to the cafeteria. He realized then that during his talk with the teacher, most of them had already vanished from his sight further down the hallway, leaving only a few stragglers behind that Alexander could follow.

Worse still, he had lost sight of the grey squirrel he had been following.

* * *

The cafeteria proved to be a very large room, but it needed to be to fit all of the creatures that were currently residing in it, which seemed to be all of the youth that were being housed here. They varied from all sorts of ages, from being nearly fully grown, on down to late Dibbun ages. The variety of species that were here was astounding, too. It seemed there was at least one member of every race from both woodlander and vermin alike. Alexander even saw a teenaged badger youth in the group, who towered over the others around him.

It was also the one room Alexander had seen where the populace of creatures actually behaved a little closer to what Alexander would consider to be "normal." They were all talking and interacting with each other, sat in groups of friends, and some even joked. But the conversations all seemed flat, almost too well-mannered to be believable, and the topics were all centered around the Gemini religion.

It seemed so close to the normal attitude Alexander longed for, and yet it was still so far away from it.

The food being served was a simple affair. It sat on a table in pots and pans to be self-served onto plain wooden trays. The food itself was clearly nourishing, but lacked the flavor Alexander was used to, and really seemed a touch bland. He figured it wasn't supposed to be flavorful, though, just nourishing. And he was hungry enough that he didn't care so much.

Once he had his meal selected, Alexander wandered around the many tables with creatures sitting at them, wondering where he could sit. He made an effort to try and find the grey squirrel he wanted to converse with, but quickly gave up. There were simply too many beings crowded into the room to find one single creature easily, and Alexander didn't have the willpower at the moment to really search. And anyway, he was supposed to be here to eat, and he needed to do that too, as his stomach was constantly reminding him.

Finally, he found a small table to one side of the room that was completely empty. As he didn't really want to interact with anybody else here, and the grey squirrel nowhere to be seen, Alexander sat here, and settled down to eat.

He hadn't been eating long, disappointed that he hadn't been able to track down the grey squirrel, when the grey squirrel found him.

"May I sit here, Brother Alexander?" the squirrel asked politely, holding a tray of food.

Alexander, surprised, just looked at him for a moment, before nodding. The grey squirrel sat down across from Alexander and began eating quietly. His own food forgotten, Alexander sat and watched the squirrel. He wanted to talk to this creature, finally had his chance, but he didn't know where to begin. He thought about showing the squirrel the note, but fear held him back. What if he was wrong, and the squirrel had nothing to do with it?

But again, the grey squirrel was one step ahead of him. Seeing someone behind Alexander, the squirrel waved that someone over. A moment later, before Alexander could put two with two together fully, a heavy was placed on his shoulder.

"This him, then?" the new creature said, as Alexander froze under the unexpected grip of the paw.

"Yes, Brother Terra." the grey squirrel answered politely, looking up from his meal to look at the creature. Alexander looked too, and saw a slightly gruff-looking mole, much older than the two squirrels, being near maturity by this point.

"Drop the 'brother', stuff, Deni, there isn't anyone around who we need to worry about overhearing." the mole, Terra, said in an annoyed matter, pushing Alexander further down the table's bench so to sit on the end beside Alexander. He looked Alexander over as he began to eat. "So, where are you from, squirrel?"

Alexander, who was surprised by this unexpected, but welcomed, change in persona, was a little slow to answer. "R-Redwall." he said. "Redwall Abbey."

"Redwall, I've heard of it." Terra remarked, looking thoughtful. He then grinned. "If these Gemini worshipers really think they can take out that place, then they've got another thing coming. Strong will to live, those Redwallers."

Alexander was heartened by these words, and couldn't help but grin with Terra.

"I suspect they'll eventually try and come and get you, squirrel, which is good." Terra went on, his eyes showing a glint of a calculating mind. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Alexander Scrypt."

"I'm Terra." the mole said. "But if you're going to call me by name in public, you'd best call me Brother Terra, like Deni did just now. With all of these Gemini worshipers listening, we need to play the part, particularly around the elders, or they'll get suspicious."

"What happens then?"

"Then, they'll probably try and use extreme action. That alone can be enough." Terra shuddered. "Not a clue what they do, but whatever it is, it's good. I've seen even the most rebellious of creatures that come here change into the most obedient overnight." he shook his head, then continued. "In the rare event that fails, or they just got too many to deal with at once..."

"...then they kill them." Alexander said, with his own shudder.

Terra, however, was forced to grin with mild relief. "Good, you're mature enough to understand and to accept that." he said with a nod. "I don't like having to sugarcoat this kind of thing to you whelps, because it's just not true. Better to tell the truth, so that they can understand fully what they've gotten into."

Alexander was starting to feel a little lost by this point, feeling like he had been dropped into the middle of something. Terra quickly realized and acknowledged this. "You got the note Deni was to give you, right?"

Alexander nodded almost excitedly, and pulled out the scrap of parchment. Terra took it from the young squirrel.

"Good." he said, and then quickly ripped it up, to Alexander's surprise. "Don't want anybeast seeing that who shouldn't. Otherwise, they'll catch onto the fact that they've got a little rebellion going on in here, and then we start getting back into the "extreme action" situation."

"Oh." Alexander said, and looked from both the mole and Deni, who was silently observing the conversation. "So you're part of a rebellion?"

"Exactly." Terra said, and lowered his voice to a more conspiratorial level to avoid being overheard. "We're like you, and don't like it here, nor do we want any part of this. But once you're in here, it's not easy to get back out. And we're few in numbers, too. These Gemini worshipers get to most of the creatures here very quickly." he then patted Alexander on the back. "We can count on you to help, though, right?"

"Yes." Alexander said, quickly nodding. "I want to go home."

"We all do, Alexander, and the sooner the better." Terra said. "It's just going to take time. In the meantime, it's vital that you act like everyone else here."

"To maintain our cover." Alexander stated, catching on. "I suspected that much already."

Again, Terra was forced to grin. "You're very smart for your age, Alexander, I like that." he said. "Normally with your age group, I have a bunch of nervous wrecks to deal with, that more than likely panic when under pressure." he grew saddened. "Most of the creatures around your age don't last long here, and eventually cave in. They're simply too young to handle it, I'm sorry to say."

Alexander lowered his head sadly. He already knew that something very wrong was taking place here, but it was depressing to know just how effective it was. He decided to change the subject. "So are you the leader?" he asked Terra.

"I suppose." Terra admitted. "Seems like I have to do everything around here. But you won't find anyone in our numbers that's older than me, I can tell you that much. Usually, any creature that gets as far as an elder in this place..." he shook his head, "...it's too late to get them to turn back. It's just us for now. But I'm hoping the Redwallers from your abbey will back us up, assuming they get this far."

"They will." Alexander said, now convinced they would come. "And don't worry, they will help us, once they see what's going on here."

"Good." Terra grinned, and turned back to his meal.

"So," Alexander said after a moment, "What should I do?"

"Well, not much you really can do at your age, other than make sure you don't get caught." Terra admitted. "Wish that wasn't so, but there are some things you youths just can't be able to do. You can help Deni, though."

"Deni?" Alexander asked, turning to the silent grey squirrel that was his age.

"My full name is Denarius, but you may call me Deni for short." Deni stated politely.

"He's _really _good at playing the part." Terra said to Alexander, then gave Deni a glare. "Almost annoyingly so."

"I'm just making sure nobody catches onto me." Deni said flatly to Terra, breaking his polite mannerisms for the first time, which was a bit of a relief to Alexander. "I'm playing it safe, and you should be thankful for that much."

Terra ignored the comment. "Deni's job is to be on the lookout for any newcomers like yourself, Alexander, and then coming and telling me." he told his newest recruit. "Then we try and get to them before the Gemini worshipers do. Not an easy task. Fortunately, in your case, Alexander, you were witnessed being brought in very early this morning, and word spread. We knew to keep an eye out for you."

"I only got here this morning?" Alexander asked, who was surprised, and he shook his head. "I wish I could remember that. I wish I could remember how I got here at all."

"But you don't." Terra said. "Most of us don't. They like to keep everyone they're forcibly bringing here drugged for most of the journey so to avoid conflict. Looks like in your case, they pricked you with a thorn laced with sleeping potion. Several times."

He pointed at Alexander's neck. Alexander rubbed at it. It still felt slightly sore, and now he knew why.

"What _do _you remember?" Deni asked, mostly out of curiosity.

"Not a whole lot about getting here." Alexander reiterated, frustrated at that fact. "I do remember the teacher coming to Redwall, and that most of everybody there didn't like him. I was mildly curious, but not much. I then vaguely remember him turning up in the middle of the night in my bedroom. The next thing I remember after that was waking up here."

"Hmm." Terra said, thinking. "The Quorum of Warriors was sent out a couple of days ago. I imagine that was right around when your memory stops. You were likely kept drugged during the whole trip here, only allowed to wake up again when you arrived here."

"A couple of _days_?" Alexander said, feeling his stomach churn at the thought, suddenly not so hungry anymore. "Any number of things could have happened at Redwall during that time!"

"Not so loud, Alexander." Terra urged, then went on to add, "If you only got here this morning, then it's quite likely that the Quorum of Warriors have only just arrived at Redwall themselves. The battle there is probably only just beginning." he grinned supportively. "I'm not worried, however. I think you're right, Alexander, and the likes of the QOW won't stop them."

Alexander managed his own grin in reply. "So, what about you two?" he asked finally. "How did you two get here?"

"I ended up here much the same way you probably did, Alexander." Deni said. "I used to live in a small village in the woods with my family. One day, a member of the Quorum of Teachers came to preach to us, trying to get us convert. Not many accepted, I think. I don't know, I was a few seasons younger then. Whatever the case, the attack came shortly thereafter. My parents hid me in the cottage. I couldn't see the battle from there, but I don't think it went well. I was later found by one of the Gemini worshipers, and I suppose that I was too young to have any real opinion about anything, so they spared me, and drugged me with some kind of drink that they offered me." he shrugged. "I don't remember anything after that until I woke up here." his ears drooped with sadness. "I'm rather envious of you, Alexander, because for the moment, you still have a home to return to. I don't think I do anymore."

"I _know _I don't." Terra said hotly. "These twits pretty much leveled the whole place. Used to live in a colony of moles, like most moles do. We lived like moles, too." he shook his head. "Those were the days. I miss it terribly. All the moles here don't act or talk like proper moles."

"I noticed that." Alexander said. "You don't sound like any mole I've ever heard."

"These Gemini worshipers don't like molespeech apparently." Terra said. "That was the first thing to go. Taught me, no, _forced _me to learn to speak "properly." It's been many seasons since I've heard proper molespeech. I was only a little older than you two when they came, you know. There, they had a bit more success, convincing about a third of the population to join them. The rest stayed to fight, and fight they did, but lost. They were slaughtered." Terra shook his head, lost in the memories. "My father and I managed to be spared somehow, I forget exactly how. I didn't believe a word the followers were trying to teach, but my father grew interested some, and agreed to learn more, though I'm certain he had his doubts at that point, particularly after they slaughtered everyone who didn't believe. We were both brought here, and we both quickly saw just how wrong it all was. My father rebelled at that point, tried to get us both out of here, but..." Terra paused, "...he failed. Never saw him again after that. Me, I was scared for my life, and willingly did whatever I was told for a little while after that, but I quickly saw that I had to not only get myself out of here, but as many others as I could, too. That's pretty much how this whole ordeal came about." he shrugged again. "Now, here we are. Trying to make a difference."

The three were silent for a long moment. Then Alexander spoke.

"We'll make a difference." he said with confidence.

Terra grinned. "And with spirit like that, I'm sure we will."

At that moment, a bell rang somewhere in the room, loud enough to be heard. Jointly, everyone in the cafeteria rose to their feet, and proceeded to leave.

Alexander followed suit, but was confused. "What's going on?" he asked. "What's happening, where are we going?"

"Back to classes." Deni replied, who walked beside him. Terra went to rejoin his age group. "We'll have to talk more later."

Alexander nodded, and fell silent. He didn't want to stop talking now with his new friends now, but saw why he needed to. Besides, now he had hope.

And that would be enough for now.


	31. Chapter 30

Know I promised a action chapter, but setting the scene for it dragged on longer than I hoped. So I'm cutting it in two. Action will start next chapter. In the meantime, a few things for you to chew on in this chapter. The Redwallers continue to prepare, the sun sets, and the Redwallers give their answer, with unexpected results. Oh, and remember when we first met the Teacher, (end of chpt. 6) that he had a weasel companion...?

Chapter 30

The sun was drawing closer to the western horizon, preparing to begin setting. At Redwall, the dwellers were very consciously aware of this fact, and grew tenser and tenser with every passing moment about the matter. As sunset grew ever closer, the number of guards stationed on the walltops grew, and they became more alert and tense, watching the army of Gemini followers encircling the abbey, awaiting them to try something at any moment.

But the army simply stood about calmly, weapons not even drawn. It seemed that they were going to stick to their agreement and await Redwall's final decision at sunset, and not a moment sooner. In the meantime, the wide variety creatures that made up the army simply stood in formation and perpetually at attention, as if awaiting a command to do something. The army's otter commander wasn't to be seen. A tent had been pitched out in the flatlands, out of range of arrows fired from Redwall. It was presumed that the otter commander had retired here.

Whatever the case, the army wasn't attacking yet, so the Redwallers continued to prepare for the battle they knew was going to come. Dibbuns were kept indoors, and both they and the elderly were ready to be moved at a moment's notice. Few but armed guards were allowed out onto the abbey grounds. Friar Machaerus took stock of the food and supplies in the event of a siege, while his son Malachi willingly helped (taking stock of the stores was something he could do well for a change).

As it was spring, and the warmer seasons only just now beginning to come around, they did not have access to fresh food; only what was leftover from what had been stored for the previous winter. Thankfully, the summer previous had been unusually plentiful, and they still had a fair amount of supplies left in their stores. Machaerus commented that it wouldn't last forever, but for the time being, they could last.

Most of the inhabitants were more worried about the immediate threat than the long term threat of running out of food and drink, however, and sought to help in anyway possible. Almost forgotten weapons of war were pulled out of restricted storerooms and dusted off and fixed up for use. The resident warriors of Redwall (which pretty much just boiled down to Skipper Rowe, his party of following otters, the Riverstryke twins, Tobias and Illia, and a meager pawful of other creatures who knew how to use a weapon of some sort, but didn't like to) all familiarized themselves with these weapons, and took up arms.

And as suggested earlier in the meeting, Skipper Rowe was rallying together all who was willing and capable to fight in Great Hall, and training them with some basic fighting skills for whatever weapon they believed could wield the best. At present, he was working with Charles, trying to teach the young mouse the basics of wielding a sword. Rowe had to give the usually shy and withdrawn youth credit for his almost eager willingness to defend his home with seemingly little fear (or at least well hidden fear) and to try his hardest to wield the sword to the best of his abilities.

Which, unfortunately, was where the problem lay.

"No, no, no." Rowe said, quickly stopping Charles's wild swings with the practice sword he was wielding. "Charles, there's more t' usin' a sword that just swingin' it wildly. Now remember wot I told ye, yore chief focus is goin' t' be my sword doesn't touch ye, not th' other way around."

Charles lowered the practice sword for a moment, breathing heavily as he thought that through, then nodded his head. "I understand." he said.

"Good, now let's try it again." Rowe said, taking a step back. "From th' top. I'm goin' t' charge an' attack ye slowly, now. You try an' block th' blows, understand?"

Charles nodded, and got ready. Rowe waited to make sure Charles was adequately prepared, then without warning, started forward, swinging his own practice sword, slower than would be a normal swing for him. At first, he thought that Charles wouldn't react soon enough, which wouldn't have been the first time, but then, without warning, Charles suddenly whipped his sword up and blocked the blow.

"Good!" Rowe praised, secretly relieved. "Now let's try this."

He made a few more swings. Charles successfully blocked each one. Seeing that they were making progress, Rowe started speeding up his swings, to try and gauge how far Charles capabilities could go. But once he started speeding up, Charles started to move faster than he should've, and soon the mouse's swordplay just boiled back down to mindless swinging.

Rowe sighed and stopped Charles. "No." he said, "No, no...Charles, I hate t' break this t' ye, especially since ye're so anxious t' try an' help, but I really don't think ye've got enough skill for this, an' seein' this all could end in a long, serious, battle...maybe t' th' death...I don't want t' put an incapable a creature in harm's way, ye understand?"

Charles sighed, looking crestfallen, but he nodded. "I understand." he said sadly. "I'm trying, I really am, but...after a few swings I just...start...losing concentration."

"It's probably because it seems complicated t' ye."

"No, this is different...like...like..."

"Like wot?"

Charles shrugged, and adverted his gaze, as if ashamed. "...never mind." he muttered.

"Well, thank ye for tryin'." Rowe said, placing a paw on the mouse's shoulder. "We really do need all th' 'elp we can get."

"Then _let _me." Charles pleaded. "There must be _some _way I can help."

"Charles, this is quite likely goin' t' be a real life-or-death scrap. Creatures _die _in this kind of thing. This isn't somethin' t' take lightly."

"I know. But if Redwall falls, we _all _could die. What different will it make?"

Rowe thought for a moment, wishing he really could make it up to Charles, but knew of only one way that would keep them both happy, and Rowe wasn't as happy about it as he'd like. "I'm gonna regret this, I know it, but...maybe I could make ye an errand boy. Ye know, where ye bring supplies back an' forth t' the forces? Like arrows. Ye can bring new arrows t' the archers. Would that satisfy ye?"

Charles thought about it. Rowe could tell it wasn't what he had in mind, but apparently it was enough, because he shrugged, and said, "I suppose."

Rowe managed a grin. "At least ye'll be helpin'." he remarked.

* * *

Finally, the sun began to set over Mossflower. As it did, Abbot Isaiah arose and made his way outside the abbey. Skipper Rowe, who saw him, followed, being both curious and worried.

"Father Abbot, where are ye goin'?" he asked as they walked onto the abbey grounds.

"I promised I would give Redwall's final answer to the proposition the followers of Gemini at sunset." Isaiah replied as he hobbled along. "It is now sunset. I will give them their answer."

"And then they'll probably attack, unless ye intend t' provide some different answer that I don't know of." Rowe said.

"I do not."

"Then, for yore own safety, I'm comin' with ye."

"Very well." Isaiah motioned to the walltop adjacent to the gatehouse. "I'm only going as far as there, however, then I intend to head back to the main building, regardless of what happens."

"Aye, but a lot can 'appen in that distance." Rowe pointed out. "I'm stayin'."

"Fine by me."

They calmly strolled up to the top of the wall in question, and over looked the army that circled around the abbey. A pair of otter archers moved over to join them to provide protection if need be. In the army, the otter commander had reappeared from wherever she had hidden herself, and was making her way through the ranks of her army to the front. Once there, she looked up towards the abbot and his guards to address him.

"Have you made your decision?" she asked.

"We have." Abbot Isaiah replied. "We reject the teachings you have to offer. They contradict what _we _have believed to be right for so long too much. We at Redwall seek peace. What you seek..." Isaiah shook his head, "...is everything but."

The otter commander narrowed her eyes. "You realize that you are bringing about your own demise by saying that, yes?" she said.

"We would rather die than give in to what you're trying to impose upon us." Isaiah said.

"'Sides, I'd like t' see ye try and slay us all!" Rowe added, and went to say more, but Isaiah stopped him.

"Not helping." he said flatly.

"So be it." the otter commander said decisively. "Your wicked abbey will fall, with all that are in it."

And with that, she turned and started her way back through the ranks of her army. The army parted to permit her to pass, then slipped back into position once she had gone by. Silently, she continued on her way, making her way towards the tent. The abbot and Rowe watched for a moment, both looking slightly puzzled.

"I suppose she's not going to command at the front of her army." Isaiah reasoned. "And they're letting her move to the position she desires."

"Th' coward." Rowe muttered, then turned to the others on the walltops. "Everybeast at the ready! They're probably goin' t' attack at any moment!"

They all nodded, and tensed themselves, gearing up to do battle. The army did likewise, but neither side began fighting just yet. The commander vanished into the tent. The army surrounding the abbey still did nothing.

"Hold yore fire!" Rowe urged, as several of the archers stationed on the walltop looked ready to start firing. "Let 'em fire first! Father Abbot, now would be a good time t' 'ead back t' th' main buildin'."

But Isaiah hesitated. "Something is very off about this." he remarked.

They waited further still. The army surrounding the abbey still did not attack. Finally, Rowe signaled to the guards on the walls to stand down.

"But stay alert." Rowe said. "They may be tryin' t' just catch us off guard." he then turned his attention back to the army, and frowned, paws on his hips. "Most curious thing I've ever seen." he muttered.

"Why don't they attack?" Isaiah asked, perplexed.

"Search me." Rowe replied with a shrug. "But I guess, considerin' everything, we shouldn't complain 'bout bein' spared for a liddle while longer."

"No, I suppose not." Isaiah said. He shook his head, and turned to leave. "Please keep me informed of any new developments, Rowe."

"If anythin' happens, Father Abbot, ye'll be th' first t' know." Rowe promised, not breaking his gaze from the opposing army.

* * *

The otter commander entered the tent calmly, and faced it's only occupant straight on.

"They have rejected the teachings of Gemini." she reported flatly, and without interest.

"They choose to die instead?" the tent's occupant said, not looking up from the book he was reading.

"Yes. They said so themselves. They claim to prefer their own sinful ways."

"Gemini will not allow that."

"Yes. What do you instruct to do from here?"

Another member of the Quorum of Teachers, the weasel looked up at the otter with a emotionless gaze. "Kill them." he replied. "However you see fit, and as quickly as possible."

The otter nodded. "I have just the plan, then." she stated.


	32. Chapter 31

Charles faces his first battle. That pretty much sums up the rest of the chapter, too. :p I'm tempted to do another Redwall chapter after this, but I think I'll touch base with all the other storyarcs in this fanfic for a chapter or two first before coming back to Redwall.

Chapter 31

Night fell upon Redwall Abbey rapidly thereafter. The only light left was from a big full moon, which cast a silver glow upon the abbey and the surrounding valley quite nicely, lighting things well enough. The defenders stationed on the walltops continued to monitor the army that had the abbey surrounded, prepared in the event that they tried something, but the army still did nothing to attack.

It baffled the Redwallers. The army had vowed to slay them all if they resisted converting to their religion, so they had fully expected to be in the midst of a battle long before now. But it never happened, and a relative sense of peace still prevailed. Questions were bouncing around frequently about it. Had it all been a empty threat? Did the army really not want to have to kill anybeast? Or is this just part of another elaborate scheme to catch them unaware?

Whatever the case, the defenders stayed constantly alert and vigil. They completely intended to not be caught unaware should the battle begin without warning. And for that matter, so did Charles. He was currently stationed on the walltops as well, armed with nothing but quivers full of arrows, which he was to distribute to archers should they be running low during a battle. But as there was no battle going on at the moment, he had nothing to do, but wait and watch like everyone else.

So that's what he did. Staying low, and peering cautiously over the parapet, the young mouse watched the Quorum of Warriors closely, wondering why they were waiting. Redwall _was _at their mercy. They couldn't do anything at this point except defend the abbey as best as they could. And they all knew it. So why weren't they attacking.

"Don't think too 'ard there mate, or ye'll hurt yore brain." a nearby otter remarked joking, seeing Charles so hard at thought. "An' I think ye want yore brain intact for awhile longer still, hmm?"

Charles didn't reply, and avoided eye contact, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I'll bet that you're thinkin' th' same thing as th' rest of us, though." the otter continued. "An' that's why aren't _they _attackin'?" he jabbed a claw down at the army below, which was hardly moving. "I personally haven't got th' foggiest clue, but I suppose if they aren't gonna attack...all th' better for us, aye?"

Charles nodded quietly, glancing slightly up at the otter. The otter studied him for a moment.

"Don't talk much, do ye?" he asked.

"No." Charles replied nervously.

"Ye should try it, though. Ye'd make more friends that way. Think ye'd be happier, then."

"I am happy."

"Ye don't look like it. Though, granted, 'tis not th' best of time t' be happy right now, is it?"

"No."

"Aye, it's not. Though, we gotta find _some _way t' keep happy, or..."

He got no further when, in the blink of an eye, something struck the otter and knocked him down to the stone walkway they stood upon. Charles, completely surprised, blinked, then twisted around to look, wide-eyed, at where the otter lay. The object that had hit him was an unusually thin and short arrow. It had buried itself very deeply into the otter's chest, leaving a jagged wound that fit the dimensions of the arrowhead. Blood gushed out around the arrow, staining the creature's brown fur, then dribbled off the side of the otter's body and pooled on the stones below him.

The only part of the arrow still visible was the arrow's shaft, which was made of some kind of metal, possibly copper. The otter weakly grasped at it with his paws, but for the moment, he was more focused on breathing, which had become quite strained, nothing more than quick, sharp, raspy gasps. Charles stared at the creature, frozen with fear, his face turning quite pale.

He didn't notice there were hundreds of other arrows raining down on the walltops for several moments until one struck the parapet dangerously close to where the young mouse stood. Yelping in terror, he quickly ducked down, shielding his head with his arms. All around him, he could hear the cacophony of battle and death, driving fear further into his pumping heart.

"Great seasons aplenty!"

"What th' devil set 'em off so suddenly?"

"I _told _ye t' not let yore guard down!"

"Creature down! We've got a creature down over here!"

"Keep 'em heads down if ye want t' live!"

"How are they firing those arrows off so blooming quickly?"

"No way a creature could fire 'em that quickly!"

But they were. Arrows were literally coming down like a heavy rainstorm, each arrow fired off being rapidly followed by another within seconds. Charles knew very little about archery, and even he knew that there was no way that he knew of that could explain for these rapidly fired arrows. But that was how they were being fired.

He also knew that he was in grave danger, and realized that he should've heeded Skipper Rowe's advice. A battle was no place for the likes of him. He shouldn't have volunteered, and pressed that he be stationed out here. He should leave while he had the chance.

But...how? Arrows were coming down every seconds, clattering off the masonry dangerously close to Charles's head and footpaws, the only shelter he was getting at all was that from the lee of the parapet. He feared that he moved so much as an inch from this spot, he would be struck down by an arrow, and he was dreadfully afraid of the lethal arrows at the moment. There was no way he could leave.

A moaning sound drew his attention back to the injured otter lying beside him. He also lay on the walltop in such a way that he was sheltered from more injury, but the one wound he _had _received was still serious, nonetheless. The otter's condition had worsened further still, and he merely moved about feebly, too weak to do anything more. His breathing had grown more strained still, and was hardly breathing at all. Blood was also trickling out of the corner of his mouth, which had started sometime while Charles wasn't watching.

The mouse realized with a start that the creature was dying.

And he _would _die if he didn't get help, and soon.

Urgently, he looked around for potential help, but all the other creatures stationed nearby who had seemed so close just moments before the battle had begun now seemed far, far, away, and they were too preoccupied with fighting back at the moment to even notice the mouse and the dying otter. Charles wanted to call out to them, to get them to draw their attention away from the battle and save the otter, but he couldn't find his voice, and he worried he wouldn't be heard anyway in the noise of the raging battle.

Charles realized that if anybody was going to help the otter, it was going to have to be him.

Cautiously, he started to make his way towards the fallen otter. The otter was lying very still, chest hardly rising at all as he drew to take another breath. He couldn't have much longer left. Finally, Charles reached the body, and wondered what he should do now. Removing the intruding arrow that pierced the otter's body seemed important, but Charles feared he would cause more harm than good by doing that. The second thing that came to mind was to slow the bleeding from the wound, which was still bleeding quite profusely. Charles removed a handkerchief he carried in his pocket, took it in his paw, and pressed it against the wound. He felt the otter flinch under the fabric of the cloth, telling Charles that there might still be hope, something he hung desperately onto, ignoring the sensation of warm blood seeping through the handkerchief.

Again oblivious to the battle as he was, Charles failed to notice the hailstorm of arrows begin to lessen until the reasons why forced itself to the front of Charles attention as a three-pronged grappling hook suddenly landed heavily beside him, then snapped backwards into the parapet, clattering loudly as the hooks gripped the masonry. Charles twisted around to stare at it in fear, then turned back to the fallen otter.

Only to see that the creature had stopped breathing.

Alarmed, Charles quickly checked for a pulse. He couldn't find one, but he kept telling himself that he simply wasn't looking for it in the right location, and continued searching for a pulse. Finally, after checking all across the otter's neck for a non-existent pulse, the truth started to sink in. Charles stared at the dead otter, an otter that moments earlier had been very much alive, his breath starting to quicken in panic.

Suddenly, Charles was quite aware of the battle going on around him. His eyes spied every detail, every arrow raining down, every creature in the vicinity that was fighting. His ears were suddenly able to perceive every sound, from his own beating heart, to the ranging war cries, the pinging of arrowheads ricocheting off the parapet, the twang of bowstrings launching more arrows...

...and the sound of enemy soldiers scaling up the wall, with one just arriving at the parapet behind Charles.

Feeling anger and rage suddenly boiling through his veins, Charles let out a mad yell, and spun around and attacked.

* * *

Somewhere in the back of Rowe's mind, the part he didn't really have much control over, he was celebrating.

He and his crew had been taking bets. As to when the army might attack, and why they had waited so long to attack. And had he not only accurately guessed the time (about fifteen minutes previous to the start of the battle), he had also guessed the motive. They had simply been waiting to try and catch the abbey unawares and suddenly attack, surprising them.

And surprise them they did, but Rowe couldn't help but swell with pride when he thought about just how quick the defenders had been at recovering and fighting back full force. Some had wounded in that first strike, however, and some might have been killed, although Rowe hadn't taken the time to find out just yet. The Quorum of Warriors was unquestionably a force to be reckoned with.

Rowe was notably impressed with the army's archers, as they were all equipped with a type of crossbow that incorporated some kind of mechanism that allowed the crossbow to be loaded and fired much faster than traditional bows and arrows. As Rowe understood how it worked, the crossbow worked much like an ordinary crossbow, except it had a small box sitting on it's top that presumably carried unused arrows. By simply pulling a wooden lever that was built into the side of the device, the string was pulled back, the arrow dropped into place, and was ready to be fired again, all in that single motion, thus allowing the shooter to fire off the arrows so quickly, and seeing that the whole army appeared to be armed with these crossbows, it was quite an attack they were launching.

Redwall was able to keep them at bay, though, and at first, the battle dragged on with each side simply shooting at each other, almost unproductively. Finally, the opposing army decided they had enough of an advantage, and slacked off on firing arrows, and sent parties of creatures to the walls themselves who threw grappling hooks and rope up with the intent of scaling up the wall.

The defenders were ready, and most of the ropes were cut long before any of the army's troops reached the top. Some were allowed to get that far before the ropes were cut to allow the warriors to fall back down to the ground with thuds, causing injuries and sometimes death. Only in a few select places did the warriors actually get on the walltops and start fighting the defenders in paw-to-paw combat, but their numbers were too few, and more weren't reaching the top soon enough, and they were all quickly cut down.

This failed attack causing the army to start to slack off. The fact that they had slacked off firing arrows to allow the grapplers to try and climb the walls didn't help, as it allowed the Redwallers more chance to safely fight back against the army. It wasn't too much longer before the battle started to stall out, and the opposing army was being driven back, falling back out of arrow range.

Within moments, it was all over, and it was quiet again at the abbey. Now Rowe was wandering around the walltops, seeing what kind of damage that had been suffered. It wasn't nearly as bad as he had feared. Thus far, only two creatures had been killed, and another six had been injured, only three of which were serious. Far less than what Rowe had been expecting. It also meant that Redwall had more or less gotten out of that battle as the victor, as the Quorum of Warriors had suffered much more losses and other casualties than the Redwallers, but then they also had the greater numbers.

In the end, Rowe didn't really care who technically won, just so long as Redwall was able to stand it's ground for yet another day.

"Skip, come quick!" one of his crew exclaimed, quickly running up to him. "Skip, we need yore 'elp further up th' wall!" she paused, then added, "It's Charles."

Rowe's eyes went wide, then wordlessly nodded, and hurried forward, following the otter as she led him to the site of the incident. Rowe had been expecting to find the young mouse lying there injured or worse, but when he arrived at the sight, he was stunned to find that wasn't the case at all, and was actually the very last thing he was expecting.

Three other otters, two adult mice, and a squirrel, were all struggling to hold back one creature. Charles. The mouse was thrashing and beating against those holding him back, trying to break away from their grip, yelling and shrieking nonsense so loudly, Rowe wondered how he hadn't noticed it sooner. Charles was also perched on the parapet itself, teetering dangerously on the edge of the wall as if he planned to jump. If it weren't for the many paw trying to hold him back, his thrashing would've thrown him over the edge.

Then Rowe noticed the bodies. One was an otter, shot with an arrow. Rowe sadly added the fallen otter to his mental list of casualties. What was more surprising, however, was the other bodies that lay strewn around the fallen otter, underpaw of those trying to get Charles's wild outbursts under control. No less than _seven _members of the opposing army, no doubt creatures who had scaled the walls. They had all been killed the same way. An arrow skillfully shot in each of their chests, fatally wounding them. Some probably died almost instantly.

Even more interesting was the fact that the arrows that killed these creatures were the same metallic arrows that the Quorum of Warriors itself used. They had been shot by their own arrows, and at first Rowe couldn't figure out why. Until he saw that Charles had one of the army's crossbows in paw. It then donned on the Skipper of Otters that Charles must have captured it from one of the warriors trying to scale the wall, and then put it to good use. Probably out of rage at the army; Rowe figured the death of the otter companion probably triggered this mad outburst.

But then...if Charles had been fighting with such blind rage...then how did he manage to kill the opposing creatures so...skillfully? Like he had years of experience at this, when Rowe knew with certainty that the young mouse did not.

He pushed the questions to one side of his mind. All of that could wait. First, they needed to get Charles calmed down. He joined into the fray, trying to help restrain Charles. The otter that had brought him here also joined in. Charles naturally resisted, but even in his current, wild, state, he could resist the paws from eight creatures working to hold him back. The original six, in fact, had probably been more than enough, but the full eight helped.

Once Charles was down from the parapet and back down on the relatively more safe walkway of the battlements, Rowe moved to stand in front of the wild mouse in an attempt to calm him.

"Charles." he said, trying to get his attention, "Charles! _Charles!_"

Charles didn't stop resisting, but he did make contact with Rowe with narrowed, bloodshot, eyes. He looked exhausted, about ready to drop from the stress, but he continued resisting still.

"_CHARLES_!" Rowe roared, and backhanded the mouse across the face.

Charles froze for a spilt second, stunned at the unexpected blow, then without warning, whipped up the crossbow he still had in his paws to point at Rowe. Several gasped in alarm, and Rowe visibly flinched. Had Charles fired, Rowe would've been a dead beast. But finally, Charles snapped out of his wild state, his eyes growing wide as he realized what he was doing and came to his senses. Starting to hyperventilate, he let the crossbrow drop from his paws, flustered about for a moment, then suddenly froze, and collapsed into Rowe's paws, out like a light.


	33. Chapter 32

Rather filler-ish chapter, but it does prelude to some important stuff coming up, so the story moves on. :) Mathoni and Kani chat, Ruth and Moroni discuss, and a potentially useful discovery is made. ;)

Chapter 32

Mathoni took longer to recover than expected, and it wasn't until about sunset until the otter started to become hydrated enough again to continue onward. Something Kani was very tempted to try and due, seeing how much time they had lost by stopping for so long. But then it probably wasn't a good idea to travel through not very well know territory in the darkness of night. So they both settled down to camp for the night.

"About how much longer do you think we have before we reach Redwall?" Kani asked aloud as he prepared a simple meal over a fire.

"Dunno, matey." Mathoni admitted, leaning against the tree still, resting, but he looked much better. "Could be any number of days, but I'd doubt we'd get there by tomorrow."

Kani frowned. "I wish there was some way to speed up the trip." he muttered as he brought some of the meal to Mathoni, while keeping part for himself. "If only we could sail down the river..."

"Can't without a boat." Mathoni remarked, eating the meal happily. "Mebbe we could build a raft..."

"With what?" Kani asked, then shook his head, and gazed longingly at the river. "Wish I could swim."

"Actually, it ain't as deep as it looks 'ere." Mathoni commented, glancing back at the river. "More likely t' wade through it than swim in it for some distance still."

"But you took a brief swim in that river to help cool yourself off and recover earlier." Kani objected. "When you did, you made it seem much deeper."

"Well, I'm an otter, wot can I say?" Mathoni asked with a grin. "I could 'ave a grand time just swimmin' in somethin' as small as a puddle."

"At least you _can _swim." Kani stated, then said again, "I can't swim."

"I know, but like I said, if ye tried it 'ere, ye wouldn't 'ave much trouble. If ye started t' sink, all ye needed t' do is just stand up."

"True. But whatever the case, none of this is helping speed up our journey."

"Yore lordsh...er...matey, I know ye're anxious t' get t' Redwall as quickly as possible, an' I can understand why." Mathoni stood up and placed a paw on Kani's sholder. But worryin' an' whinin' 'bout it ain't gonna 'elp ye."

Kani gave Mathoni an amused look. "You accusing a lord of whining, otter?" he scolded, mocking annoyance.

"I thought ye didn't like bein' referred t' as a lord, yore lordship." Mathoni teased back.

The two laughed for a moment.

"Still..." Kani pressed, going back to the original topic, "...I want to speed up this journey as much as possible. I have no way of knowing how things are going in Angola. For all I know, it could've gotten worse, and the worse things get there, the less likely any semblance of order and peace the land had before can be restored." the fox sighed. "Mathoni, Angola is my home. I loathe to see it like it is now. I want to do all I can to help bring things back to the way they were, to make Angola the happy and peaceful land I once knew it to be. If Redwall Abbey was in a similar situation, wouldn't you want the same?"

"I would." Mathoni agreed immediately. "An' I ain't sayin' that ye're in th' wrong for thinkin' that, matey, but I'm just sayin' that we're already doin' wot we can. Not much more we can do after this." seeing Kani's concerned face, he added, "But of course, if we find anythin' that'll enable us t' go faster along th' way, we'll put it t' use."

Kani paused, then nodded. "Of course." he said, and resumed eating his supper.

The night dragged on. Eventually, the two travelers decided it was time to call it a day, doused the fire, and laid down on the ground to sleep. Silence fell over the camp, and some time passed before anything happened. Then, without warning, a creature entered the camp, looked it over once, then quickly backed back out of it and deeper into the thick, surrounding, forest. She moved to stand at the edge of camp facing away from the nearby river, then settled down to watch.

Aurora had found her target. Now, she was going to wait and make this escapade worth her while...

* * *

"Ruth, are you sure you're okay?"

Ruth looked up from the meal she had been picking at and looked into the concerned eyes of her husband. "Oh, certainly, Moroni." she replied. "I've just been feeling...off...lately."

"Maybe I should have Sister Daisy look you over when she has a chance next." Moroni thought aloud, not looking entirely convinced.

"No, I'm fine, Moroni." Ruth pressed. "I'm just...depressed." she shook her head. "It's dark times in Angola, Moroni, and I don't like it. You know that."

"I do." Moroni agreed, returning to his meal. "But I also know that what is happening now isn't nearly as bad as it could be. You should know that."

Ruth sighed. "I know." she admitted, twiddling with her claws. "I just long for the simple days of seasons past, when we just lived peaceful and happy lives in safety. Not in constant fear and worry, and worse still, being threatened by an evil creature who's forcibly taken control of the land."

"Methusael." Moroni repeated, and glared at his plate of food for a moment. "I wish there was something I could do about that." he muttered. "But even with the new recruits we've been getting, we just don't have the numbers, the training, nor the power. All we can do is just...sit around and watch as that traitor of a fox turns all of our lives upside down. I want to _do _something about it, Ruth, something to fight back! Not just...survive and hope we'll eventually get help."

"Lord Kani requested that you keep Methusael at bay, and to continue resisting his rule..." Ruth began.

"...but it's not enough!" Moroni pressed. "I want to do more!"

"You made mention that you wish to conduct a strike." Ruth pointed out. "That's something."

"But we've got nothing planned!" Moroni stated. "We were all up practically all night brainstorming, trying to come up with some semblance of a plan...but came up with nothing! Complete blank!"

"Well...how about you lead a strike against Midnight Castle?" Ruth suggested, trying to be helpful, but then immediately regretted it. She had been against this rebellion from the start, and now she was offering ideas to try and help?

Moroni didn't seem to notice. "Of course a strike against Midnight Castle in some shape or form would be ideal." he said. "But saying that, and doing that, are two completely different things. Midnight Castle is, after all, a castle. A fortress. It's designed to _protect _itself from this kind of thing." he hung his head, sliding down slightly in his seat. "I just...don't see it happening."

The two were silent for a few moments. Ruth then rose from her chair and strode over to stand behind her husband, rubbing his shoulders. Moroni made a faint sigh, and unwillingly let himself relax a little

"Moroni, I worry about your dedication to all of this." Ruth said as she continued with this soothing action. "From the very beginning of all of this, I have worried about that. I understand your reasons, and why you do it, and I see the good that could come from it...but at the same time, I worry all this will ever bring is more trouble. More harm. Maybe even more death and destruction, and that's the very last thing I want to see."

"We don't have much of a choice." Moroni pointed out.

"Maybe so." Ruth said. "But you need to relax. I learned long ago that allowing yourself to be too stressed out only causes problems for both your health, and your logic. You need to find some way to unwind, Moroni. It doesn't matter how, just so long as you do it. For instance, when I was young, I used to go to the caves in the side of the mountain to have some time alone so I could relax, and..."

"Wait." Moroni suddenly said, looking up. He gazed up at his wife. "Caves?"

"Yes, caves. You know, those big holes in things like mountains and hills?"

"Where are these...caves?"

"Oh...under the ledge Midnight Castle sits upon. My friends and I used to wander into them all the time when we were young, even though our parents were highly against it."

Moroni was silent for a moment, then he stood and turned to face his wife. "About how deep are these caves?" he asked.

Ruth frowned. "I'm...not sure." she admitted, not seeing where this was going. "We never went too deep...again, because our parents told us not to."

"About how deep would you say they go?"

"Uh...rather deep, I would think. Dark, too. Went deep enough that it eventually got too dark to see with natural light. Moroni, where are we going with this?"

Moroni didn't respond right away, but the grin that was slowly spreading across his face spoke volumes. "I've got an idea." he said.

* * *

"Moroni, I've heard of these caves before." Amulek said as he held the lantern before them as he and Moroni inched into the cave in question. "By the claw, I've been in these caves before, too. You're not going to find anything useful."

"You've been in the caves too." Moroni said as they moved through the cave. "Maybe then you can tell me where they lead, or at least how deep they go?"

Amulek hesitated. "Well...I don't know all _that_." the mouse admitted. "I haven't been in these caves in many seasons, not since I was a youth. Never been a need. And when I was young, I never went too deep into the caves, because my parents..."

"...wouldn't let you go any deeper, because it was too dangerous." Moroni concluded with a nod. "So no one really knows, then?"

"Moroni, all I'm saying is that if these caves held anything important, we would've known about it by now." Amulek insisted.

"I'm not looking for anything too incredibly important, just anything that might be overlooked." Moroni stated. "Besides, it doesn't hurt to just check. You never know."

Amulek made an unconvinced noise as they moved deeper into the cave. Moroni glanced at him, frustrated.

"Just...humor me, okay, Amulek?" Moroni asked. "This won't take long."

"Fine." Amulek said.

They followed the tunnel for several long moments in silence. Finally, Amulek swept the lantern a few times along the ground in surprise.

"The tunnel is started to go upward." he noted in surprise.

"See?" Moroni said, and they pressed forward.

The tunnel did indeed begin to travel upwards at a gentle slope, twisting around on itself like it was going to lead back outside. The two mice wordlessly continued to follow it. Finally, without warning, the natural cave suddenly terminated and joined with an artificial tunnel that leveled off, and headed deeper into the cliffside. Moroni examined the side tunnel.

"Moles dug this." he declared, grinning. "Ages ago."

"Okay." Amulek said, and looked around for a moment before he looked back at Moroni. "Why?"

"Why else?" Moroni asked, as he headed a little deeper into the cave, then, quite pleased with himself, motioned to the opposite wall. "To aide in the building of Midnight Castle."

Amulek blinked, and then ran a paw along the wall of bricks that made the opposite side of the tunnel. "It's part of the castle's foundations." he realized.

"This part is." Moroni agreed, moving further down the wall, one ear to it. He suddenly stopped. "But this part isn't. This is part of a chamber wall. There are creatures behind this." and to prove his point, he rapped his paw against the brick.

There was a momentary pause, then a soft thumping sound rang back as a creature on the other side rapped back. Amulek eyes went wide in surprise. Moroni gave him a big grin, _very _pleased with himself now.

"But..." Amulek began, pointing a claw at the wall, "...who's behind that wall?"

"Amulek, think." Moroni said. "These are the lowest levels of the castle. Now, what's in those lower levels?"

Amulek thought for a moment. "The dungeons?" he guessed.

"Exactly. And we know that there is at least _one _prisoner down here, one who would know just as much, if not more, about the situation with Methsuael as we do."

Amulek thought about it for a moment, then brightened considerably as he made the connection. "You mean Bluejay."


	34. Chapter 33

Picks up from where the last chapter left off. Features Moroni, Amulek, Kani, and Mathoni, as well as a few others. Total toss-up as to what the next chapter might be about at this point. Guess you'll just have to wait and see. ;)

Chapter 33

Moroni and Amulek spent the next several minutes in the caves, trying to chisel a hole into the mortar in part of the brick chamber wall they had found, to try and determine with one hundred percent certainty who was there.

"Moroni, suppose for a moment that it's not Bluejay on the other side of this wall." Amulek asked as they chiseled. "What do we do then?"

"It'd have to be another prisoner, then." Moroni said. "That might just be as good. And besides, we won't confirm who we are until we know who's on the other side. Then, depending on who it is, we continue as needed."

"Suppose it's someone unfriendly, though?"Amulek asked. "Like, maybe it's a guard under Methusael's command?"

"Why would a guard be in a prison cell?" Moroni asked.

"Why are you so sure that there are prison cells behind this wall and not some corridor or some other room that's on this level? I mean, isn't there a guard room down in the dungeons as well?"

"Well, then, if all of that was true, then why did the creature on the other side tap on the wall in response to my tapping?"

Amulek struggled to reason himself out of that one. Moroni let him, and continued chiseling.

"I think I've almost got it, here." he announced suddenly, jiggling the chisel briefly in the small peephole they were making to widen the hole slightly.

With a shove, he drove the chisel the rest of the way through the wall, finishing the hole, and then pulled it back out again with a small cloud of dust. Sweeping away the debris, he then peered into the hole, Amulek struggling to try and do the same. Through the hole, they could make out the interior of a small room, not seeing enough to make everything about it out, though, and the dark outline of some creature trying to peer back through the hole as well.

"Who's there?" a feminine voice called through the hole. "Is someone there?"

"Aye!" Moroni replied. "With whom am I speaking?"

"Bluejay! Bluejay the healer!"

Moroni shot Amulek a victorious grin. "Bluejay, it is good to hear from you! I am Captain Moroni, from the Angolian militia."

"Captain Moroni?" Bluejay was clearly surprised. "Really?"

"Aye! And am I right in presuming that you had no involvement in the murder of Lady Grinta?"

"Do coats of fur thicken in the winter? Of course I didn't do it! I was framed for the crime! Which, if you believe that I didn't commit the crime, then I presume you are aware who is _really _behind it."

"Methusael." Moroni stated without hesitation.

"Good, then we're all on the same page, then."

"Bluejay, currently it is only I and a fellow creature, another member of the militia named Amulek, who is here, so we can't do much more here at this time."

"In fact, we should probably go and convene with the others and tell them about this." Amulek remarked suddenly.

Moroni absentmindedly nodded in agreement, and continued speaking to the healer vixen. "Bluejay, is there anything else you wish to tell us, or consider important?"

Bluejay was silent for a moment as she gave the matter some thought. "Mordecai's here." she suddenly remarked, almost as if an afterthought. "He's been locked up in here as well."

Amulek frowned at the apparently unfamiliar name. "Mordecai?" he repeated uncertainly.

There was some shuffling at the peephole. "Yes!" the new male voice of Mordecai said in reply. "I am Mordecai, former servant for his lordship, Kani Fennix, and yes, I am here."

"Servant, eh?" Moroni said, looking thoughtful. "I've heard of you, Mordecai. Very loyal to the royal family if memory serves."

"That is correct Master Moroni. That is also the reason why I am here."

"Because you wouldn't be loyal to Methusael."

"That, and because we both knew too much." Bluejay remarked, taking control of the conversation again. "Methusael couldn't risk letting us wander around if he couldn't guarantee that we'd support him, so he locked us in here."

"Understandable." Moroni replied. "Have you been treated well?"

The two prisoners in the cell were silent for a moment. "We're alive." Bluejay finally replied. "We can leave it at that."

"Is there anybody else in there that we should know about?" Amulek asked, wanting to cover all the aspects.

"No one else." Bluejay assured them. "Although, we did have Mistress Eventide in here briefly."

"Eventide?" Moroni repeated in surprise. "You mean _Adah _Eventide was locked up in there with you?"

"Yes, but as I said, it was for a brief while. Unlike us, she chose to side with that traitor's flea-bitten hide to save her own skin and not end up like us."

"Hmm, that's interesting." Moroni fell silent and thought about that for a few moments.

"What are you planning on doing, captain?" Bluejay asked finally.

"I'm not entirely sure, Bluejay. As I said, we will need to convene with the others and discuss the matter, and again, there are only the two of us here at the moment, myself and Amulek, and we're ill equipped to do anything more at this time. I think we will leave for a short while to plan, but I think we'll be back shortly to talk further. In the meantime, sit tight, and if anyone comes along, act like we never had this discussion."

"Very well, captain." Bluejay said. She was heard shuffling around for something. "Until the next time we speak."

She then plugged up the small peephole with a piece of what appeared to be cloth. Moroni and Amulek quickly gathered what little they had brought, and departed the caves, anxious to share the news of what they had found, and what they had learned, and to plan their next move.

* * *

Morning arose peacefully upon the forest, casting warm rays of light down on the camp of Kani and Mathoni situated next to the nearby stream. Feeling the heat of the light against his fur and flesh, Kani began stirring into wakefulness. He grinned as he felt the sensation of the fine mist of dew that had managed to cover him and his blanket during the night began to evaporate, and listened for a few moments to the sound of the babbling stream nearby. Sighing, he rolled over and opened his eyes to look at Mathoni laying nearby.

The otter was already awake, and lying very still, turned so that he faced Kani, his back facing the woods. Seeing that Kani was awake, he quickly brought a claw to his lips.

"Be quiet, yore lordship." he quickly instructed.

"Mathoni, I told you to not call me a lord." Kani said in the middle of a large yawn. "And anyway, why do I need to be..."

He trailed off, suddenly noticing that Mathoni looked like he hadn't gotten hardly any sleep during the night. The fox furrowed his brow, and opened his mouth to inquire about Mathoni's exhausted state when the otter again silently urged Kani to be quiet.

"Don't look now," he explained quietly, "but just outside our camp, there's a female rat watchin' us. Has been all night. Recognized her as one of th' mercenaries that tried t' kill ye in Angola. I'm supposin' that she lyin' in wait t' try again."

Kani felt his stomach turn uneasily at this sudden revelation, and resisted the urge to try and spy the rat in question in the woods behind Mathoni.

"If that's true, then why hasn't she done so already?" Kani whispered.

"I think she's waitin' for ye t' wake up first, an' catch ye then, unaware." Mathoni replied, also whispering. "Too easy t' kill ye in yore sleep, an' she's 'ad t' 'ave come a long way t' do that, so she's tryin' t' make it worth her while. Thrill seeker that 'un."

"Okay, but how on earth did you know she was there?"

"Um, well...I woke up in th' middle of th' night an' saw her then."

"Why were you up in the middle of the night?"

"To...attend t' some...uh...private business."

"What? What do you mean..." Kani trailed off for a moment, then blinked as he suddenly understood. "Ohhh."

"Wotever th' case, we both need t' be quiet, an' act like we're still asleep until we can decide wot t' do 'bout that rat. I think she's dozin' at th' moment, just barely awake enough t' hear us if we start movin' around as we wake up. If she doesn't hear anythin', then she'll leave us alone for now."

"Okay, what should we do?" Kani asked. "Do we have any weapons we could use against her? I know I don't, I didn't bring any when I met with you and the rebels back in Angola for that meeting, and never got the chance to get one since."

"All I've got is th' stave I brought from Redwall when I left." Mathoni made a discreet motion to the wooden stick lying beside him. "I also got a sling, but if I go t' use it, then I reveal we're really awake." he frowned. "I didn't really think I was goin' t' need anythin' more than that."

"I don't blame you." Kani agreed. "But we need to think of something."

Mathoni was silent for a moment, then his eyes focused on something behind Kani. "Well, there's always th' river." he remarked.

"What about the river?" Kani asked.

"If we can slip into it undetected, then we can get away without th' rat ever knowin'."

"You're thinking too far ahead, Mathoni. How would we ever do that discreetly, and what about our supplies and the such?"

"Hmm, good point. We're in not much of a position t' stay an' fight."

Kani suddenly had an idea. "Actually, we might not have to." he remarked. "You said you have a sling, right?"

"Aye."

"With slingstones?"

"If I didn't, why would I 'ave th' sling, matey?"

"Right, good point." Kani said. "Now listen, here's my idea..."

* * *

Mathoni had guessed right when he said that Aurora was dozing, because she was. It had been a long night, but she couldn't afford to sleep completely in fear that she might miss something happening within the camp. And staying there, sitting on her haunches and watching two creatures sleep all night long, got very tiring. So she dozed, that way she could semi-satisfy her body's need for rest, but also stay alert enough so that she wouldn't miss anything. And she hadn't, for she had been aware of when Mathoni arose in the middle of the night and sleepily wandered a short distance into the surrounding woods to attend to his business before he returned.

However, she _was _unaware that Mathoni had seen her during that late night venture, as the otter had been smart enough to keep cool about the matter. So far as she knew, she would catch the two creatures completely off guard when they awoke. And when they did, she and her bow and arrows would be ready.

She snapped to attention when she heard loud yawning. Looking up and quickly blinking sleep from her eyes, she watched as the otter stretched and stood up, shaking himself all over. Aurora wondered about him. In her orders from Methusael, he explicitly stated to kill Kani, regardless of who stood in the way. He did not say anything about Kani having a companion with him, nor what Aurora could or could not do regarding that companion, just to not let him get in the way.

Therefore, Aurora planned to kill him, and leave no loose ends.

The only problem was when and where. If she attacked the otter now, he might be able to raise the alarm in his death throes. Unless she killed him instantly, but that might leave a mess for Kani to find. And if Kani found that before her weapons found the fox's heart...trouble could arise. It's thing like this that made an assassination a far from simple affair. Everything had to be done just right, or there would be trouble. Aurora had learned that the hard way during her first assassination, when she was much younger, and it nearly cost herself her life. Fortunately, Grim had been present (he had been supervising her efforts) and came to her rescue. She didn't have Grim this time around, but she was much older this time around and wiser and more skilled at the same time.

She could do this. It just had to be carefully planned.

Though deep down, she wouldn't mind a struggle. It would add to the challenge, and it wasn't like there was anybody around to hear or see such a struggle. But if she were to do that, she could only do that with the latter creature she killed. And the first would have to be killed quickly and quietly, so to not alert the other too soon.

She could do that.

She watched the camp silently for a few moments longer. The otter was now fully up and about, and eventually wandered over to the bank of the river to search for firewood. Kani was still asleep, although he was showing the occasional sign of stirring. He would wake soon. Aurora wanted him fully awake when she killed him, though, so that he could see who had done it. The otter she wouldn't have been so picky about.

She would kill him first.

Then it came to deciding how to do the deed. Aurora quickly decided that the best way would be to kill the otter and then promptly push him into the river where he wouldn't be so easily seen by Kani when he awoke. The swiftest way to kill the otter would be with an arrow, but Aurora wouldn't be able to control which way he fell when doing so. The next best way would be to stab him, and then quickly push the body into the river by paw.

A challenge. She liked the sound of that.

She started to move forward, but froze when her shuffling became louder than she had counted upon and drew the attention of the otter. Stiffening, he straightened and looked in her direction. Aurora ducked down so he couldn't see her. After a few moments, unconvinced, the otter went and retrieved his stave and moved over to the shrubbery and used the wooden staff to prod at the surrounding woods for any intruders. He still didn't find Aurora.

Finally, seemingly convinced for the moment that no one was there, he returned to what he was doing, and went back to searching for firewood near the bank of the stream, this time holding onto his stave just in case. Aurora didn't complain. Slowly drawing her dagger, she waited until the otter had his back turned to her, then she quickly and silently hurried towards the otter, getting ready to stab him, cautiously stepping around Kani's sleeping form as she did so.

It was then that Kani proved to be more awake than she had thought.

Without warning, the fox suddenly lashed out with one paw, swinging a loaded sling at her footpaws. The leather strap quickly ensnared the rat's footpaws, and she tripped and fell to her knees. Surprised, she stupidly allowed herself to fumble with the dagger, and dropped it. She moved to retrieve it to fight when Mathoni suddenly spun around and lashed out at her head with the stave, catching her under the chin. Aurora was out like a light, sprawled out flat on her back due to the ferocity of the attack.

"About time she appeared!" Kani exclaimed, unraveling the sling from around the rat's feet and propping himself up. "I was wondering when she'd decide to strike."

"So was I, in fact I was worried she smelled a trap." Mathoni admitted, looking at the rat mercenary apprehensively. "She got a lot closer t' me than I thought she would."

"Aye, a real professional killer she is." Kani remarked, as Mathoni helped him up to his footpaws. "Good thing we got her first."

They looked at the senseless rat for a few moments.

"Now wot do we do with her?" Mathoni inquired.

Kani sighed. "We should kill her." he said bluntly.

Mathoni looked shocked. "Wot?"

"Mathoni, we can't let her live! If we do, she could just track us back down again and try again, _or _she could report back to Methusael and have him be even _more _on his guard than he already is, and we can't have that! We can't let either of those things happen, in fact!"

"But..." Mathoni hesitated, then gave Kani a determined look. "At Redwall, even when we are forced t' fight, we won't kill a defenseless creature." he pointed at the rat. "Ye can't get more defenseless than that."

Kani bit his lip for a moment, then sighed. "Of course, you're right." he agreed. He didn't like the idea of killing the rat assassin anyway, even if she was vermin. "But we can't just leave her like this."

Mathoni picked up the fallen dagger, studied it for a moment, then swapped it with the sling Kani still carried. "Well, it won't keep her out of th' picture forever, but I do 'ave an idea." he remarked.

Which was how, sometime later, Aurora awoke to find that the sling had been used to tie both her paws behind her back and to a tree, and that the camp was abandoned, and her prey nowhere in sight.


	35. Chapter 34

The Angolian rebels meet and discuss plans. Alexander ponders briefly. Next chapter will feature Redwall, and possibly Kani and Mathoni.

Chapter 34

True to their word, Moroni and Amulek both arranged to meet with the rest of the rebels the first chance they had so to discuss the discovery of Bluejay and Mordecai's location. The rest of the night and into the following morning, the two quickly started spreading the word about the proposed meeting, and who would attend.

At first, everyone within the rebellion wanted to attend, but that quickly proved to be a problem. In the wake of Methsuael's coup, the rebellion had grown in numbers, and now contained many eager new recruits that wanted to help restore the land to the Angola they knew once before. There was now too many of them to allow to attend in a meeting. One was because someone was bound to notice if all those creatures tried to turn up in one spot, and furthermore, no cottage in the village had room enough to house that many creatures.

So finally, it was agreed that the usual, original, members of the rebellion would attend the meeting (which Amulek was quick to note that could mean they had suddenly become "captains") and then spread the word to the others afterwards. It was also agreed that seeing that the royal guards were everywhere within the village searching for them, they couldn't continue to meet in the same place as before. So this time they agreed to meet in a different location; the attic of Sister Daisy's small cottage, a small, low ceilinged, but cozy room that could house them all.

"So these caves led directly to a tunnel that runs along one side of the walls of the dungeons of Midnight Castle?" Hyrum asked, surprised.

"Yes, so it seems." Moroni replied.

"Why haven't these caves been discovered before, and left so...open...for any creature to just wander in?"

"I don't know. But they were clearly used in the original construction of Midnight Castle by moles. Maybe they were simply forgotten over the seasons."

"I remember these caves from when I was young." Sister Daisy commented aloud. "We youth were always fascinated by these caves, but the elders were always very leery of them, thinking they would be unsafe."

"Then that might be another reason." Neph remarked. "No one _wanted _to see what was inside these caves."

"Except for the youth, obviously." Amulek remarked pointedly.

"But they were never allowed to go very far into them." Moroni stated. "Look, whatever the case, that's what we've found. Now we need to decide what to do from here."

"So what are you proposing we do, Moroni?" Ammon asked.

"I say we break Bluejay and Mordecai out of there." Moroni stated plainly. "They could help our side significantly. They know the insides of Midnight Castle much better than we do, such as where everything is, and where everyone in it might be."

"All of which would be extremely helpful if we ever conducted a raid against the castle." Neph remarked.

"Which we know we'll have to do eventually if we ever hope to overthrow Methusael." Hyrum agreed.

"Yes, but what are the risks?" Sister Daisy commented. "A jailbreak, no matter how we do it, wouldn't go unnoticed forever."

"Unfortunately, you're right." Moroni said solemnly, nodded his head. "And the only way we could get at Bluejay and Mordecai is if we completely tear down the wall that divides them from us."

"And then there's sneaking them into the village, and making sure they aren't discovered." Ammon said. "That'll be a lot of work, and we're all already under a great deal of pressure."

"True, but I think we can still do it." Moroni said. "Is there any reason why we can't? It'll be simple. We'll just wait and conduct the jailbreak during the cover of night. That way, it'll be unlikely there will be any creature passing through the dungeons who notices what we're doing, and it'll be too dark for any creature outside to clearly see what we're doing. Then we just lead them to the closest home. Who's would that be?"

"That would be mine, Moroni." Sister Daisy remarked, raising her paw into the air. "I can hide them up here in the attic, just as we are all hiding up here now."

"But how are we going to sneak them here?" Hyrum asked. "Getting them out of the dungeons would be the easy part, and hiding them in Sister Daisy's attic would be relatively easy. If not, then there are other locations they could be moved to. But how are we going to get them from the caves and into the village? Surely we'll be noticed and caught!"

"Hyrum does have a point." Neph reluctantly admitted. "Both Bluejay and Mordecai are foxes, much bigger than us mice, with different builds. No matter what we did, they would stand out. If they are seen wandering around the village with a group of mice..." he shrugged, "...it'd be like wandering up to the gates of Midnight Castle and declaring 'Hey! We're rebels! Come capture us!'"

"And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather we didn't do that." Amulek remarked semi-sarcastically.

"Oh, we'll think of something." Moroni promised, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Captain, perhaps we could try something similar to what we did in sneaking Lord Kani and Mathoni out of the village?" Ammon suggested.

Moroni promptly shook his head. "It wouldn't work." he stated. "It only worked the first time because of the direction we were heading in, out of the village. Trying the same stunt, but while staying within the village's technical boundaries and being so close to the castle...we'd only draw unwanted suspicion."

"We could try disguising them." Sister Daisy remarked.

"As what?" Amulek asked. "Mice, like us? That would only work if we shaved their tails and chopped off their legs so they'd be closer to our height." he sighed. "Y'know, our chances would be better if we didn't have to worry about the royal guard any..."

Moroni suddenly blinked, an idea hitting him like lightning. "The royal guard..." he muttered, then declared. "Amulek, you're a genius!"

Now Amulek blinked, in mild dread. "I don't like the direction my newfound ingenuity is taking me already." he muttered.

"It's simple!" Moroni said. "We'll dress them both up as members of the royal guard!"

"Oh! Yes! It's so simple!" Amulek declared melodramatically, dripping sarcasm. "Only one problem. We don't have any uniforms to dress them up in."

"We'll get some!"

"How?"

"We have until tonight to figure it out."

"There is one other problem to all of this, too." Neph commented. "The members of the royal guard are all red foxes, not to mention male. Bluejay, however, is neither. She is distinctly unique."

"That is easily fixed." Sister Daisy said dismissively. "We can just color her fur to look like a red fox. I believe I have just the thing to do it with, too."

"And a royal guard uniform should be more than enough to hide that Bluejay is female." Moroni added. "So no one should notice unless someone looks under the uniform."

"And I would think that no one is planning on doing _that_." Amulek remarked.

Sister Daisy elbowed him in the ribs for that comment.

"So that should cover everything." Hyrum remarked. "Except actually doing it. And the uniforms."

"Which brings up my original point that we _don't have any_." Amulek pressed.

"Oh, don't worry." Moroni remarked with a grin. "I have a few ideas about that."

* * *

For Alexander, the rest of his first day with the followers of Gemini went no differently. After lunch, he went back to classes with Deni, and listened to the instructor continue to teach the teachings of Gemini. It was very boring, just as boring as before. But this time, Alexander paid a bit more attention to what he was being taught.

But not because he wanted to learn.

He was paying attention now to see what else about the teachings of Gemini didn't add up in his mind.

There was a fair number of them.

Every teaching that dealt with the wicked sooner or later stated that they must be destroyed. There were even instances in the teaches when the wicked were admitted to wanting to repent and join the followers of Gemini, but was killed anyway, merely for having fallen away from "the path of righteousness." The reasoning was simply because that they were wicked. And that seemed to be reason enough.

There was also a great deal of emphasis on the fact that Gemini was righteous and the savior and protector of all, that he helped those in need...if they followed his teachings. The moment they weren't, they were to be killed. Anything and anybody that went contrary to the teachings of Gemini.

And it was all explained and told in a way that, to the unsuspecting, it eerily made sense.

Suddenly, Alexander realized why everyone here behaved the way they did, with such unrelenting loyalty to Gemini and only Gemini; they didn't know any better. To them, what Gemini taught made sense. That, combined with being stripped away with the live they all knew previous, and the stress and agony of being forced to adapted to this new world Gemini presented out of "good will" made those good creatures turn to support a side that was _truly _evil.

And Alexander knew evil. Redwall was filled with stories of evil.

He wasn't sure any of it could quite compare to this.

Gemini, whomever or whatever that is, was abusing the trust and beliefs of good creatures, both woodlander and vermin alike, and twisting them to follow him. And only him. There was power in numbers, and somehow, Alexander thought that's all Gemini wanted.

Power.

The classes continued for several hours. Then they all broke to return to the cafeteria for dinner. Once that meal was over, they were sent to their individual rooms for the night. Most promptly went to sleep, but Alexander stayed awake for some hours still to ponder the day.

In the morning, the process was repeated.


	36. Chapter 35

Redwall-centric chapter today. Some might see this as a filler chapter, but I do not, as I see it addressing at least one very important issue. Basically, the aftermath of the battle. Whatever the case, the chapter turned out quite well, the best chapter I've written for this fanfic for a little while. :)

Chapter 35

"I know what this thing is."

And with a decisive and rather proud motion, Linus slapped the curious crossbow that the Quorum of Warriors used on the table with a thump. Startled, both Abbot Isaiah and Skipper Rowe stared at it for a moment, then glanced questioningly up at the recorder squirrel.

Linus made a frustrated shrug. "We're in a siege, my son is missing, and life in this abbey has become more or less miserable for me." he stated, annoyed. "So...I found something to do to keep my mind off things, and that was identify what _that _thing is." he pointed a claw at the crossbow.

"But Linus," Rowe began, "we _know _wot it is. It's a crossbow, mate."

"Yes, but what _type _of crossbow?" Linus challenged. "I mean, none of us have ever seen a weapon quite like this one before, right?"

"Well..." Rowe began, searching for a defense.

"No, we have not, Linus." Isaiah remarked calmly to avoid argument, folding his arms in the process. "So, what have you learned my boy?"

"That it's a repeating crossbow." Linus said, and pulled out an old book from under one arm and opened it, starting to flip through the pages to provide evidence. "See, a Long Patrol sailor encountered one once many seasons ago, while visiting an island out in the southeast. The populace of the island had a small army that bore these weapons. The sailor was so fascinated by them that he managed to obtain one and brought it back to Salamandastron to study and possibly add to their armory. There, they were eventually able to create a copy of the crossbow that worked and everything, but they discontinued making any more after that, declaring that the weapons couldn't be built easily enough to arm their forces with." By this point, Linus had found the page he was looking for, and turned the book around so Rowe and Isaiah could see the text and accompanying illustration that was on it while continuing. "I know all of this because one of the Long Patrol hares of a later generation found one of the two repeating crossbows and made it his weapon of choice. He later visited Redwall in passing while on assignment and there he showed off the crossbow, how it worked, and explained how he came to have it. The abbey recorder at the time was dutiful enough to record all of that down on parchment for future reference."

Rowe studied the illustration on the page and compared it with the real crossbow. Despite a few minor differences, they were identical. "Aye, they're the same thing all right." he admitted, tugging at a whisker in thought.

"Did the Long Patrol find these repeating crossbows in any other lands?" the abbot asked curiously, fingering the crossbow on the table carefully.

"No, only on that one island." Linus admitted.

"Then 'ow did the Quorum o' Warriors managed t' get their claws on these things?" Rowe asked, puzzled.

Linus again shrugged. "Search me." he admitted. "Maybe that's something else I can investigate."

"We will welcome any and all new information you can give us, Linus." Isaiah remarked. "Thank you for sharing your discovery with us."

Linus nodded happily, collected his book but left the crossbow, and turned and left the abbot's study, closing the door behind him.

Isaiah looked at the crossbow left on his desk for a moment and sighed, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, it doesn't help much with our present situation, does it?" he asked aloud.

"No." Rowe agreed, walking around to stand on the opposite side of the desk from the abbot now. "That confounded army is still out there, waitin' for their chance t' slit our throats." he jerked his head at the window to indicate to the army hidden behind the abbey's wall outside. "But at least we were able t' 'old off their attack last night. 'tain't th' battle I was expectin'. They didn't really try." he shrugged. "I guess they just didn't expect us t' resist 'em so 'ard."

"But they are still there, and they could try again at any moment, this time with different, possibly better, tactics." Isaiah pointed out. He looked extremely worried. "Skip, judging from how they attacked last night, do you think Redwall could survive another attack?"

Rowe shrugged. "'twould depend on several things, Father Abbot." the otter admitted. "Mostly on wot they did, an' wot we're doin' at th' time. They'll probably try an' get th' jump on us again like they did last night, seein' that was where they caused th' most damage." he paused for a moment. "Personally, I'm just glad that they've given us th' time t' recover from last night's battle. We needed it."

"I'm sure you did." Isaiah said, and managed a grin. "You and the forces you rallied together performed well."

"I s'pose we did." Rowe agreed. He heaved a heavy sigh. "Although I wish we could've gotten more out of it, other than casualties on both sides, the right t' live through th' night, an' _that_." he jabbed a claw at the repeating crossbow.

Abbot Isaiah examined the device again. "How many of these were we able to capture, anyway?" he asked.

"Just th' one." Rowe replied. He hesitated for a moment. "'twas the one Charles used."

The abbot nodded in understanding, and fell silent for a moment. "Speaking of which, how is he doing?" the elderly mouse asked.

"Physically, he's fine." Rowe replied, sitting down in a seat that sat nearby and scooting it closer to the desk. "He slept th' rest of th' night after he passed out from th' stress, an' probably needed it. Sister Mint claims that she can't find a thing wrong with him." he paused. "I still worry about 'im, though. He...he wasn't at all actin' like himself when I got t' him Father Abbot. I don't know how he managed t' get through that battle alright in that state."

"And yet, he managed to slay...what...six foebeasts?"

"Seven. Not that anybeast's keepin' track. Not really somethin' t' be proud of, y'know."

"I know. Still...considering his age and especially his skills..."

"Aye, an' t' think I was tryin' t' get him t' use a sword when he volunteered t' 'elp. Didn't ever stop t' think 'bout makin' him an archer. Wish I had. Could've used another archer, an' there's no denyin' that he apparently has skill. And maybe things would've gone differently."

"And perhaps it would've." Isaiah agreed. "But now we need to make the best of the situation as it stands now."

"Aye, so we do, an' wot a boatload of a situation it is." Rowe agreed, standing up. "I need t' get back t' dealin' with that situation paws on. Be back later with any new news."

"Understood, Rowe." Isaiah said, as he thought about something. Rowe was nearly out of the study when he called for him to stop. "Uh, actually, Rowe, could you find Linus and send him back in here? I want him to look up something for me."

* * *

A little while later, Abbot Isaiah hobbled down to the Infirmary, leaning heavily on his cane as he went, a bundle of parchment clutched in one paw. Reaching the double doors leading into the room, he politely rapped upon it with one paw. There was a momentary pause, then the door opened a crack to permit Sister Mint to peer out.

"Father Abbot." she said, mildly surprised. "What brings you here?"

"I came to see Charles, I wish to speak with him about...about recent events." Isaiah explained politely. "May I come in and see him?"

"I suppose you may." Sister Mint said. "I don't know how successful you'll be, though."

"What do you mean? Isn't he awake?"

"He is, but...he won't talk to anyone."

"He won't?"

"No. Unless it's to that blooming sparrow."

Isaiah blinked. "What sparrow?"

"The sparrow you brought in here a few days back that I haven't been able to get back out ever since." Mint stated in annoyance.

"Oh." Isaiah remarked, having forgotten. "That sparrow."

"Yes, that sparrow! I can't get that bird to leave the room. It won't go near anyone, either. Except Charles. It apparently likes Charles."

"And you say that he's been...talking...to it?"

"Yes. But don't ask me what they're saying, as I can't begin to understand it."

"That is not surprising. It is my understanding that the sparrow language is extremely difficult for woodlanders such as us to comprehend, much less repeat. Few have ever mastered it."

"Charles has."

"Yes, very interesting." Isaiah said nodding. "Now, Sister Mint, if I may enter?"

Sister Mint held open the door for the abbot, who ambled inside. In the room, sitting in bed, tucked neatly under the covers, was Charles. He looked very depressed. However, he was awake at the moment, and speaking rapidly, and in remarkably fluent Sparra to the sparrow in question that was currently perched on the end of the bed. The two didn't notice the abbot making his way towards them.

Isaiah paused upon nearing the bed, not wanting to interrupt, and stood and watched the two creatures converse for a few moments. The old mouse was thoroughly impressed. Clearly there was much more to Charles than anyone had ever thought about the mouse. Finally, he cleared his throat to announce his presence. Both the young mouse and the sparrow immediately fell silent, and whirled around to look at the abbot, then moving almost at the same time, the sparrow took flight and flew up into the rafters to hide, while Charles quickly rolled over in the bed, facing away from the abbot, his ears folded back as if in shame.

Isaiah sighed, sensing the mouse's emotions. "Hello Charles." he greeted.

No response.

"I didn't know you spoke Sparra." the abbot continued, deciding to not get on topic right away. "I know very little of the language myself, but from what I heard, you speak it very well."

Charles still didn't respond, but Isaiah saw that the mouse's ears had gone a little redder, proving that he was listening. Heartened by this, Isaiah continued.

"What is the sparrow's name?" he asked. "They do have names, don't they? I wouldn't know, as it's been many generations since Redwall has made much contact with the sparrows in the loft, not since the times of Matthias the warrior. These days, they usually keep away. Wish I knew why. Fascinating creatures, sparrows, but we know very little about their culture now. Most of what has been learned in the past has been lost, buried in all those books Linus keeps in that gatehouse of his, long forgotten. It would be a great pleasure to get to relearn all of that and more some day. Perhaps that day will come soon."

Charles still didn't respond, but the abbot knew that he was listening. Isaiah sighed again, and pulled up a stool to sit upon.

"Charles, you must know why I am here." he said finally. "I wish to talk to you about the events that occurred last night."

He fell silent to give Charles a chance to talk. Instead, he heard the youth suddenly break down into tears, the sobs shaking his body gently. Isaiah felt his heart go out for the mouse, and placed a comforting paw on him.

"Charles, it wasn't your fault." he said.

"Yes it is." Charles mumbled back.

"No, it's not." the abbot persisted, momentarily pleased, at least, that Charles had finally spoken.

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is!"

"No, it's..."

"YES IT IS!" Charles spun around to face Isaiah as he shouted the words as he looked at the abbot with guilty, tear-stained, eyes, breathing heavily from his outburst. Then, realizing what he had done, he squeezed his eyes shut and turned to look away from Isaiah again, ashamed, as a fresh bout of tears came on.

Isaiah said nothing, letting the mouse cry and vent his feelings.

Finally, Charles spoke again. "I killed them." he whispered, choking out the words with obvious regret.

Isaiah nodded, knowing he couldn't deny the truth. "Yes."

"How many?"

Isaiah sighed. "Seven."

"Seven...oh good seasons..." his crying redoubled for a moment. "I killed seven creatures in cold blood. Without even meaning to."

"You reacted in defense for yourself, for your fellow creatures on the walltops, and for the abbey." Isaiah stated sternly. "You did exactly what was expected of you. You can't blame yourself for that."

"I still killed them." Charles murmured, still not facing the abbot. "Nothing can change that."

"No." Isaiah agreed, and sighed again. "Charles, you've just had your first taste of war. Real war. You're struggling to cope with it."

Charles nodded. "I shouldn't have volunteered." he muttered in-between sobs. "I can't deal with it. All I want to do now is to...undo what's been done."

"But you can't, Charles. What has happened will stay with you. Forever. It has, in a way, scarred you for life. That's what being a warrior entails."

"I'll never forgive myself for what I did."

"Be that as it may, you can't blame yourself for what happened. As I said, you reacted to protect yourself, others, and this abbey, for all that is right. That is what a true warriors fights for. Whether they know it or not. You should really be proud for that much."

"But I'm not."

"I know. And it'll take time for you to see it. If you ever see it at all. The road ahead of you will not be easy, Charles. From this point onward, your life could very well be forever different. And you probably never will learn to forgive yourself for what happened. Instead, you'll be forever trying to rectify what wrongs you think you've committed. You are a warrior now. Whether you like it or not."

Charles was silent for a long moment. He sniffed, and turned to look at the elderly mouse finally. "Father Abbot," he began, "would it be all right if I asked for your forgiveness anyway?"

Isaiah smiled. "My dear boy, you've already gotten it."

As sad as he was, Charles couldn't help but grin. "Thank you, Father Abbot."

They were silent for a long moment. Then Isaiah decided it was time to approach a potentially even more delicate matter. "Charles, what do you remember about the battle?"

Charles was silent for a long moment, his eyes glazing over as the unwanted memories appeared before him against his will. He sniffed. "I...remember being afraid." he said softly. "Terribly afraid. I watched a creature die right before me." his eyes started to brim up with tears again, but he held them back. "Then I felt angry. After that...I can't remember everything. Just brief glimpses. Gruesome ones. Of...of..." he trailed off.

"You don't need to explain it to me." Isaiah said quickly.

Charles nodded. "I can't remember everything, though." he pressed. "I felt like...I was in a daze. Like...something else had taken over for me."

"The same thing happened, I believe, when you were practicing swordplay with Skipper Rowe before the battle, correct?" Isaiah asked.

Charles nodded.

Isaiah sighed yet again. It seemed to becoming a habit. "Charles, judging from a description of yourself that Rowe provided after the battle, before you passed out, I believe I know what came over you." he held up the bundle of parchments he had been holding in one paw during all of this. "It is a condition known as the Bloodwrath. Technically, it shouldn't be considered to be anything serious, but typically it causes a creature engaged in battle to...become extremely enraged, to loose all self-control. Bloodshot eyes, sometimes to the extent that red is all one sees, is a notable characteristic."

Charles looked apprehensive, and went to speak, but Isaiah motioned for him to be silent for a moment longer.

"It's exact effects vary upon the creature." Isaiah said. "Judging from what we know, your case is rather unique. Instead of simply going berserk, you seem to...gain a...heightened perception of what is going on, and react accordingly. It is, presuming I am correct, what enabled you to attack the enemy so skillfully as you did."

Charles was silent for a long moment, then asked the foremost question on his mind. "Is it bad, this, Bloodwrath?"

"It can be." Isaiah admitted. "Badgers are well known for having it, and become extremely dangerous creatures under it's influence. But it's not limited to them. Other creatures have been suggested to have it. According to legend, Martin the Warrior even suffered from it on occasion, but he generally kept it in check rather well."

"You think it can be controlled, then?" Charles asked, sounding hopeful.

"I _know _it can be controlled." Isaiah said, handing the parchments to the youth to look at. "I asked Linus to gather all the information he could on the Bloodwrath, and jot down some notes. It should tell you what you need to know about it."

Charles accepted the parchments and glanced through them. "Will it tell me how to prevent it from happening again?" he asked.

"It might." Isaiah admitted. "But that choice is up to you."

Charles looked at the parchments for a few moments, thinking. "I didn't want to be a warrior. Not like this."

"Few seldom do, Charles."

"But...what has happened...has happened. And there is no changing it, is there, Father Abbot?"

"I'm afraid not, my son."

Another long moment of silence fell. Finally, having done what he sought to do, Isaiah rose creakily to his footpaws and started to turn to leave. "I'll let you have some time to think about it." he said as he left. "Thank you for letting me speak my part, Charles."

Charles nodded. "Thank you for coming to speak your part, Father Abbot." he replied with a small grin of thanks.

* * *

In the encampment of the Quorum of Warriors, the otter commander was perplexed.

"I don't understand it." she muttered. "We outnumber them. We should have overpowered them, and won that battle last night. Instead, we were driven back."

"The wicked shall be punished for those actions." the weasel teacher commented confidently.

"Yes, but..." the otter commander shook her head. "I still don't understand. We should've won with a fraction of the effort we put into that battle...and yet we did not. Why has Gemini forsaken us?"

"Gemini has done no such thing." the weasel teacher pointed out sternly. "He would never forsake his loyal followers. There is a ulterior motive to what he has done. A lesson to be taught and learned from what happened the following night."

The otter commander thought about that for a moment. "Yes." she said. "Yes, of course. Forgive me for my rash thinking, teacher."

"You are forgiven, commander." the teacher remarked. "Now, what of the wicked abbeydwellers?"

"We will not give up." the commander stated. "They merely were lucky. We'll come up with another, better tactic and try again, and we will keep trying again until they have been defeated. That abbey will not continue to stand and mar this world that Gemini has provided for us while I am alive. You have my word on that."


	37. Chapter 36

Kani and Mathoni centric chapter, they're getting closer to Redwall now. Next chapter will be Angolian-centric, and depending on it's length, the next chapter after that might be the same.

Chapter 36

"Brr." Kani muttered with a shiver.

"Wot, are ye cold, matey?" Mathoni asked, glancing back at him.

Kani nodded. His otter companion frowned.

"How can ye be cold?" he asked. "I'm not cold in the slightest."

"This from the creature who was about to faint from heat exhaustion the other day." Kani stated almost teasingly.

"That was different." Mathoni declared in his defense. "'Sides, I'm really not cold, and I can't see how ye can be."

"Oh really?" Kani asked, and pointed downward at his footpaws with one claw to prove his point.

Mathoni looked, then glanced at his own footpaws. "Well, I suppose th' water _is _a bit nippy, but that's nothin' a good coat of fur can't handle."

"Your fur coat must be different from mine, then." Kani remarked, shaking a heavily soddened footpaw of loose river water before he and Mathoni continued trudging through the body of water. It had been his idea after their brief encounter with the rat assassin that morning that they should continue this journey by walking in the river that they were following, so that they wouldn't leave tracks that the rat could possibly follow as easily, should she ever free herself in time. It was a solid idea, but the water was still quite cold from the morning chill, and the fox was beginning to regret it.

"Well, an otter _is _built for swimmin'." Mathoni did admit as they waded onward. "A fox...not so much."

"Particularly _this _fox, as I can't swim." Kani agreed. "But I still don't get it. Your fur is just as wet as mine."

Mathoni glanced down at the fur around his footpaws. It was throughly drenched and matted around his legs, the wet hairs having soaked others, and as the result, the water had slowly traverse halfway up the otter's leg, wetting the fur there as well. It was bone dry above that. A brief glance proved that Kani's fur was in a similar state.

"I don't get it either." Mathoni said with a shrug. "I feel fine."

"And I feel cold!" Kani snapped with a shudder. "Especially in my footpaws." he shivered again. "Maybe we should stop and take a break."

"That might actually be a good idea, matey." Mathoni agreed, suddenly stopping in his tracks. "Looks like th' river gets deeper from 'ere."

Kani walked up and looked around him at the river ahead of them. "Looks the same as always to me." he remarked.

"To th' untrained eye, maybe." Mathoni remarked, glancing at the fox. "Seein' that ye can't swim, I'm thinkin' we should continue on solid ground now."

Kani pushed past Mathoni and looked ahead, still not convinced. "Maybe." he said. "The current does begin to pick up, I can see that, but it doesn't _look _deeper."

"Looks can be deceivin'." Mathoni pointed out. "Besides, who are ye goin' t' believe, yoreself, or a professional otter?"

Kani gave him a grin. "A professional, huh?"

"Aye, I've been an otter all me life. I think that makes me a professional."

Kani merely rolled his eyes. "I still say that it's nothing we can't wade through for awhile longer still."

"I thought ye were cold, though." Mathoni said, giving Kani a bemused look. "Now ye want t' keep goin'?"

"No, no, I still want to stop and rub some feeling into my footpaws, but I really think we could keep wading through the river as far as we can go." Kani stated, turning to face his otter friend. "I highly doubt that rat we tied up is going to stay that way long enough for us to get to Redwall, and I'd feel more comfortable if we didn't make it too easy for her to try and kill us _both _again."

"Understandable." Mathoni said with a nod. "But really, Kani, we really shouldn't press our luck. Rivers don't usually get deeper very evenly. They might be nice an' shallow one moment, then suddenly so deep ye can't touch bottom."

"We're still in the shallower end of the River Moss, Mathoni." Kani pointed out, facing forward again. "I don't think this is such a big deal. I mean, I trust your knowledge and instincts, and I'm not saying that you aren't right...but I guess I'd like proof."

"Well, just wadin' out there blindly will give it t' ye, yore lordship." Mathoni remarked flatly.

"We aren't going to be wading onward blindly." Kani said with a sigh, rolling his eyes as he took one step forward, past Mathoni.

He then suddenly vanished into the water.

"Kani!" Mathoni exclaimed, and started forward only to discover that the riverbed suddenly dropped down more than foot in depth directly ahead of him...and Kani had stepped right into it. Mathoni hesitated, not wanting to make an unexpected dive as well, not without knowing mor ebaout what was going on. "Kani!" he exclaimed again, watching the water anxiously, hoping the fox would resurface on his own and give Mathoni a bearing of where he was exactly.

Kani did resurface, but through means unknown to even Mathoni, the fox had somehow managed to flow several feet downstream in the space of time he had been under the water, and resurfaced in a panic.

"Mathoni!" he gurgled as he resurfaced and struggled to keep his head above the water as he blindly struggled in the water. "Mathoni, help!"

He then vanished back under the water, only to reappear even further away a moment later. The current was pulling him away. Acting quickly, Mathoni dove into the water and with all the grace and agility he had to offer as an otter, began swimming towards Kani to rescue him.

"I'm comin' mate!" he exclaimed as he surfaced to get a gulp of air before swimming onward. "I'm comin'!"

But for Kani, he wasn't coming fast enough. The current seemed to be going faster and faster by the moment. The distance Mathoni had left to cover to reach Kani didn't seem to be getting any smaller, the current was pulling Kani away as fast as Mathoni could swim towards him. Kani tried to help by trying to make his way towards the young otter, but he himself had made clear time and time again, he couldn't swim. If anything, his feeble attempts probably only made things worse.

And even worse than that was the fact that Kani couldn't feel the riverbed with his footpaws anymore. He didn't have the foggiest clue how much water separated him from solid ground, and the thought frightened him as the fear of drowning gripped his heart as it donned on his mind just how much of a reality that was at the moment. The water was freezing, too, soaking clear through Kani's fur and chilling his flesh. The shock alone of the sudden drop into the water nearly rendered him unable to move. He could barely move as is, and at the moment, all he wanted to do instinctively was curl up into a ball and shiver uncontrollably, although he knew that was a bad idea in his current situation.

He struggled to stay at the surface of the water was he was swept further and further downstream, feebly kicking his legs and slapping his arms on the water's surface to do so. He managed to more or less do so in a bobbing motion, splashing water all about in the process. Suddenly water splashed unexpectedly into his face, blurring his vision, and pouring unexpectedly into his mouth making him gag. His concentration broken, he went under again, a frightful situation as he felt the moisture of the surging water press against him, the liquid stinging his open eyes, seeing nothing but swirling fluid all around him. Kani fought to get back to the surface again, but had lost all perception of up and down in the now very powerful current. He resisted the urge to breath, made harder as water flowed up his snout and poured into his ears.

Finally, he resurfaced on his own, breaking through the water with a burst and a welcomed gasp of air, followed by much gagging.

"Kani!" Mathoni called from further up the river. He still didn't seem to be getting any closer, no matter how fast the otter swam.

"Mathoni!" Kani called back, coughing as he did so.

He went back under the water for a moment, but was quickly surfaced again.

"Kani, look out!" Mathoni suddenly called, eyes widening in panic.

Kani didn't even have time to respond before his back suddenly slammed into something hard and solid; a rock sticking up out of the water. Stunned and in pain, the fox couldn't find the strength to fight to stay above the water anymore, and promptly went under. And stayed under. Kani felt like he was sinking deeper and deeper, and as water started gushing into his mouth and down his throat unbidden, he sensed that maybe there was no going back now.

What seemed like moments passed, and as conscious started blur around the corner's of the fox's mind as he feared Mathoni wouldn't catch up with him in time, something suddenly bumped into him. At first, he was too dazed to make note of it was until he felt the distinct sensation of claws grabbing at him, and the repeated bumping of something that definitely felt like a creature. The last thing Kani remembered was a sensation of fleeting hope that maybe he would survive now that Mathoni had caught up with him before losing consciousness altogether.

* * *

The next thing he remembered was being in the middle of coughing violently and feeling nauseous.

"Good!" a voice praised somewhere from above. "Better out than in!"

The voice wasn't Mathoni's like Kani had expected, which somewhat startled him, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment as he went into another coughing fit, ejecting the intrusive water he had swallowed earlier out of his body and onto the cold slab of stone he realized he was lying upon.

"C'mon, c'mon, get it all out, now." the voice prompted again. Whoever it was, he had the same kind of accent as Mathoni.

"Is he going t' be alright?" the worried sound of Mathoni's voice suddenly rang out from nearby, to Kani's relief.

"Ah, he'll live." the unfamiliar voice remarked dismissively.

Kani begged to differ. His lungs hurt from the coughing, his throat was sore and was burning, and his chest hurt, like someone had been pressing against it. However, as he finished with that last coughing fit and began to have the luxury of breathing normally again, he inwardly thought that it could've been worse.

Feeling the adrenaline still pumping through his veins begin to lessen again, and his beating heart relaxing, Kani blinked a few times to clear his fluid-flooded vision and looked around. The first thing he saw was Mathoni, on all fours and sopping wet, looking as if he had only just barely gotten out of the river, which, Kani was quick to note, was still nearby. The otter looked concerned as he peered down upon the fox, but was also relieved, and looked to be calming down himself.

On the other side of Kani was the owner of the unfamiliar voice; a red-furred squirrel in-between his age and Mathoni's dressed simply in burlap trousers and a brown leather vest. He, too, was sopping wet like he had just gone for a swim in the river himself (so much so that at first glance it was hard to tell he was really a squirrel), a surprise for Kani. If so, the squirrel seemed completely indifferent about this, ignoring his wet body as he instead focused his attention on Kani.

"Take it easy, there, ye nearly drowned just now." the squirrel remarked, holding Kani back as he tried to sit up. "Got a whole lot o' water in ye too, goin' where water shouldn't be goin'."

"Don't remind me." Kani moaned, his voice sounding coarse and rough.

"Ye alright mate?" Mathoni asked.

Kani nodded. "More or less." he said, breathing heavily still. "Just cold...wet..." he let his head fall back onto the stone slab with a soft thump, "...exhausted."

"And ye 'ave every right t' be." the squirrel remarked, sitting up wiping water from his saturated fur.

Kani gave him a glance. "And who are you?"

"Tide Waterryder, resident river sailor, at yore service." the squirrel replied with a proud tone as he squeezed water out of a hat he had apparently removed sometime before Kani regained consciousness and placed it on his brow.

"He's th' 'un that rescued ye, I couldn't get t' ye in time." Mathoni explained breathlessly.

"What?" Kani declared. "Really?"

"Aye, I know!" Mathoni agreed, equally impressed. "A squirrel that can swim. Now I've seen everythin'."

"Oh pshaw, t'weren't nothin'." Tide remarked as he stood up and stretched his nimble limbs, shaking water from his presently not-so-bushy tail. "Heard somebeast needin' 'elp, an' did wot any self-respectin' creature would've done." he glanced Kani over again. "Though I dunno why this otter wanted t' save vermin."

"Wha...excuse me?" Kani exclaimed, offended, forcing himself into a sitting position.

Mathoni stopped him. "Well, thanks anyway." he told the squirrel. "Kani's not yore ordinary fox, so it's much appreciated ye helped 'im anyway."

"Couldn't tell that he what he was when he was in the water." Tide remarked flatly, justifying his actions. "Dunno wot he was doin' in th' river anyway. Hard t' swim in these parts even for a skilled swimmer."

"Well, he can't swim at all." Mathoni remarked, jabbing a claw at Kani.

"Even more reason t' stay out!" Tide declared.

"I didn't _mean _to get swept away in that death trap!" Kani snapped, not liking the squirrel's ill-attitude towards him. "How was I supposed to know that the river suddenly deepened a mere pace ahead of me?"

Tide gave him an odd look. "Just wot we're ye doin' t' get like this anyway?" he asked, curious.

Mathoni shook himself (splashing water onto Kani in the process, to the fox's dismay) before answering. "Kind of a long story, mate." he replied, wriggling a claw in one ear as he spoke. "Anyway, I'm Mathoni, an' this is Kani. We're headin' for Redwall Abbey, by th' quickest means possible."

"Redwall, eh?" Tide remarked, pulling at his whiskers in thought. "Wot do they want with vermin?"

Kani shot the squirrel a glare, not understanding why the creature persisted to refer to him with such a cruel name. Again, Mathoni prevented him from reacting to the remark.

"Like I said, it's a long story." he said, while giving Kani a look to quiet him.

"Well, the abbey ain't too much further from 'ere." Tide said, looking around to get his bearings. "If ye're really in such a hurry, I s'pose I could take ye as far as the ford in me boat."

"Really?" Mathoni asked, brightening. "That'd be real nice, mate."

"Eh." The squirrel said with a shrug, the turned and walked into the surrounding shrubbery. "C'mon, we'll go t' me home first t' dry off, then we'll get goin'. By th' way, normally I don't let vermin on me boat, but seeing that fox is friends of ye, otter, I s'pose I can make an exception this once. Keep an eye on him, though, ye got that? Watch 'im like a hawk."

"Understood." Mathoni said, standing up and helping Kani up to his footpaws before following the squirrel.

Kani silently followed, supported by Mathoni for a few paces before he was confident enough to walk under his own power, too tired and too anxious for a quicker means to get to Redwall to complain aloud to the squirrel about his comments about him, and only him. He still didn't understand why Tide felt a need for such a thing, though, but Mathoni apparently did.

"Mathoni, why does he keep referring to me as vermin?" Kani asked.

Mathoni glanced at him, and hesitated. "We're in Mossflower Woods now, matey." he said like that explained everything. "'Round 'ere, most foxes are considered vermin, an' with good reason. In fact, never really known of a fox passing through 'ere that wasn't naught but vermin."

This was a surprise for Kani. With the exceptions of Methusael and a few foxes recorded in Angolian history, he had always considered his race to be goodbeasts.

"There's no such thing as vermin foxes in Angola." he remarked, stunned.

"I, uh, figured as much yore lordship." Mathoni remarked, sounding uncomfortable.

"Then why didn't you tell me about this?"

The otter hesitated again. "I was bein' polite?" he remarked with a shrug, again thinking the answer was obvious.

Kani thought about that for a moment, then shrugged, and they continued onward in silence for a few moments. His mind couldn't drop the subject, though.

"Mathoni," he began, knowing he had to know the answer to this question, "Will Redwall look upon me as the same way as Tide?"

Mathoni hesitated once more, and bit his lip. Kani could see him search for an alternate answer than the completely honest one, but ultimately failed. "More than likely, matey." he finally admitted apologetically. "I...can't predict their reaction entirely, but..." he trailed off. "Look, Kani, ye aren't like the foxes Mossflower has encountered before, an' that's all that matters."

"All that _should _matter, at least." Kani commented, knowing that wouldn't stop some creatures.

* * *

As Tide had indicated, they arrived at his hut first, not far from the shore of the river, and quickly dried off using cloths the squirrel had provided. While they were there, Tide also provided some food for his two companions, giving Mathoni an apple and a hearty slice of cheese that the otter downed quickly, whereas he gave Kani a half-slice of stale bread that wasn't very filling. He held back his comments on the matter, however, trying to tell himself that Tide just didn't know him and merely perceived him as the other, bad, foxes that were apparently common here.

Once they were finished here, Tide them led back out of the small hut and back to the river, heading a bit further down the bank than from where they were previously. Eventually, they arrived at a small, self-made wooden pier. Tied to it, bobbing gently on the rapid current of River Moss, was a raft made of logs, with a small cabin built in it's center with a small mast and sail rising up from it's roof. The edges of the craft were roped off with vines.

Mathoni whistled. "Nice craft ye got there, mate." he remarked.

"Thank ye, Mathoni." Tide replied, who had taken to the otter better than he had Kani. "Beautiful craft, me liddle _Water Skimmer_, eh?"

"Where did ye get it?" Mathoni asked as Tide led the way onboard the raft, Kani bringing up the rear.

"I made it. I know all 'em boat buildin' tricks from me family."

"Yore family? So they were water creatures too?"

"Aye, but would ye expect anythin' less from otters?"

"Otters? Yore family are otters?"

"Yep. Born an' raised with 'em."

"Born?"

"Well, not born _into _their family, of course. Me parents were squirrels like all other squirrels. But, somethin' happened t' 'em when I was really young, leavin' me alone an' without a home, an' th' Waterryders's took me as 'un of their own."

"Well, that explains a few things." Kani remarked as, now that they were all safely aboard the raft, Tide untied the raft from the pier and letting it be pulled into the river's current.

"Aye, it does." Mathoni agreed. "A squirrel raised by otters. S'pose that would make a squirrel want t' be 'round water later in life."

"Ye can bet yore mama's rudder that it does." Tide remarked as he sat down at the raft's tiller. "So, away we go. Should arrive at th' ford sometime this evenin', then yore gonna 'ave t' walk th' rest of th' way by paw."

"Ah, that'll be fine, Tide, just so long as we can speed up this trip." Mathoni remarked. "Like I said before, we're in a hurry."

"Don't matter t' me either way." Tide remarked. "I'll get ye where ye need t' be, though. All I ask is that ye keep th' vermin out of trouble."

Mathoni glanced over at Kani. The fox's back was turned to them both, hiding his expression but his ears were quite clearly folded back, making it clear that the comment was still perceived as an insult by him. Mathoni winced inwardly, but knew that there probably wasn't going to be much he could do to prevent this.

"I don't think we'll 'ave much t' worry about from him, Tide." Mathoni commented, then turned and joined Kani.

"Can't wait until we arrive at Redwall." Kani mumbled aloud as the otter approached, sounding somewhat bitter.

Again, Mathoni winced inwardly. "Kani, don't listen t' him, he just doesn't know ye." he remarked.

"I know." Kani said. "But he can't see it, and doesn't seem to want to. If he can't, who's to say anyone else will?"

"So?" Mathoni asked.

"Mathoni, I'm thinking about the inhabitants at your abbey." Kani remarked. "How can I expect them to willing to trust me, if they aren't even likely to think I'm not nothing more but mere vermin?"


	38. Chapter 37

Angolian chapter today, featuring mercs, arguing conspirators, doubting toms, and plotting rebels. As for next chapter, I have an idea for a possible new twist to the Alexander subplot that I'll try out then, but if it doesn't work out, it'll be a Redwall chapter by default.

Chapter 37

After Aurora left, Grim and Sais continued doing as they were ordered, which was to observe the village of mice and to locate and unveil the rebels, and dispose of them. They did so reluctantly, however, as neither the young ferret or the wiser weasel liked each other, and didn't like the idea of having to work so closely. To remedy it, they kept their distance from each other, and did not speak to each other unless it was absolutely necessary. Grim seemed perfectly okay with this, even seemed to prefer it, but for Sais, it was depressing, and he kept wishing Aurora would come back already. At least _she _acknowledged that he even existed.

On this particular day, things had run much like before. They arose as the sun did, had a brief breakfast at their camp, then moved to the places they had determined was best for spying on the Angolian village; within two neighboring trees that were tall enough to overlook the whole village, but didn't stand out to an onlookers attention, thus allowing them to hide in plain sight.

They had both been like this all morning, Grim sitting on the branch of one tree, while Sais straddled a branch in the next tree over. They had both been silent while the observed the village, and had hardly moved during all this time. However, for the past several moments, Sais had begun fidgeting about as if uncomfortable. Finally, he slapped the side of the branch with his paw in frustration, and started to clamber off of it.

"Enough of this." he muttered as he went.

Grim turned to look at him disapprovingly. "What are you doing?" he asked flatly.

Sais looked back at him. "I need to go." he replied.

"Go where?"

"No, I mean go, as in...y'know..._go_."

Grim merely narrowed his eyes at the ferret, still not looking like he approved.

Sais stared back. "Or would you rather I just went up here in the tree?" he asked, annoyed at being delayed.

"I would _rather _that you held it and continued watching the village like I asked you to." Grim replied, turning his attention back to the village.

"And how much longer am I going to be doing that?" Sais asked as he reluctantly climbed back onto the branch, straddling it again.

"Until I tell you to stop."

"But that could be _hours _from now! I don't know if I can hold it that long!"

"Can't you?" Grim looked disappointed.

"No, I can't, and I doubt you could too!" Sais argued, although as he said it, he wondered if that was really true. It had already been proven that Grim could sit in his tree all day and not leave for anything. In fact, Sais couldn't recall Grim going to take care of his private matters at all. It was as if the weasel had perfect control over his body.

Of course, it wasn't like Sais stopped to watch when a creature needed to relieve his or her self. He may be vermin, but even vermin can have standards.

Whatever the case, Grim merely ignored the jibe and allowed the conversation to drop by falling silent and ignoring Sais's plight. Sais was left unable to continue the argument, and was more or less forced to obey Grim's request and stay. He grew more and more uncomfortable and began fidgeting more and more as time went by, so much so, he wasn't really paying attention to the village anymore, but he managed to keep the matter to himself for the time being. Although he wasn't very confident he could stay that way for much longer.

Finally, Grim spied something that grabbed his attention. "There." he said, pointed with his claw at something within the village. "Do you see that?"

"See what?" Sais snapped, who, of course, had not seen it.

"Those two creatures within the village." Grim stated, narrowing his eyes at them. "They've been walking around the village in a circle, almost consistently, no less than three times now. Like they're a patrol from the royal guard, but they can't be. They're too short to be foxes, meaning they must be mice. They aren't wearing any kind of uniform, either, and are instead wearing cloaks. Like they've got something to hide..." he fell silent for a moment while Sais tried to track down these mice himself, and failing. "Sais, what do you think?"

Sais, who was anxious for any excuse to get out of the tree, promptly agreed. "Sounds suspicious." he said, slightly surprised the weasel even bothered to get his opinion.

"Yes." Grim said, and jumped out of the tree. "Suspicious enough to report it in, I believe."

He started towards their camp hidden deeper in the woods. Seeing this, Sais quickly went to follow, getting out of the tree a little less gracefully than Grim had, and stumbled along after his companion as best as he could. Grim did not stop until he arrived at the camp, and pulled out a bow and arrow from where they were set beside the fire. Taking a bright red cloth from his pocket, the weasel tied it to the arrow, just below it's head, and placed the arrow on the bow. Pointing it straight into the sky above him, Grim fired the arrow. It sailed upwards, it's crimson taper flapping in the breeze, then the arrow stalled out and came tumbling back down to the earth, point first.

"Think they saw it?" Sais asked, whose fidgeting hadn't lessened any now that he was out of the tree.

"If they did not, I will fire it again." Grim remarked, putting away the bow. "I do not believe I will have to, however. Our employer is usually very good about seeing when we have messages for him." he turned to face Sais, and saw that the ferret couldn't keep still. He sighed, then waved the younger creature off. "Go relieve yourself, Sais."

"Thank you!" Sais cried instantly, and with relief, and without hesitating, bolted into the surrounding woods.

"I expect you to come straight back here in five minutes!" Grim called after him.

"I will! Don't worry!" Sais exclaimed back without even pausing.

Grim watched him go, then turned his head, rolling his eyes, then settled down to wait.

* * *

As it turned out, Grim was completely right, and the arrow he had fired, serving as a coded message, was seen, from a tower window at Midnight Castle. And promptly upon seeing it, she hurried to relay the news.

Meanwhile, in the study that now belonged to him, Methusael was standing behind his desk and looking out the window at the village beyond, thinking. Things were not going according to the plan, the plan he had spent much more than a season planning. The completely unexpected Angolian rebellion was the one factor that messed things up the most for him. It was because of that, that he had to act quickly and go forward with his plans sooner than he would've liked.

Now he had control over all of Angola, as he wanted, but many of the problems Kani had faced when he was leader was simply dropped onto him. And now that was slowing down his plans. He couldn't begin his plans fully until he had dealt with the rebellion, and who knew how long that would take.

Unless, he accelerated his plans yet again. But that would mean that the advantage of stealth he had been using throughout all of this would no longer apply.

His thoughts were broken when there was a sudden knock on the study door.

"Come in." he said, turning to face the door.

Adah entered the study calmly, looking as bitter as always. "Your mercenaries are seeking your attention, milord." she stated in a official manner. "Shall I send the messenger?"

"Yes, please, I hope they have something useful to report for a change." Methsauel said with a nod.

Adah nodded to indicate that she understood, then narrowed her eyes slightly at Methusael. "Has Aurora completed her mission yet?" she inquired.

Methusael returned the glare. "You just can't let a subject drop, can you?" he asked.

"Answer the question."

"I won't know until Aurora comes back to report in. And I don't know how long that will take her."

"Takes that long to kill one lone fox, does it?"

Methusael's glare hardened. "I've told you before. Aurora is just checking to make sure Kani does _not _go and rally himself an army to take back what I've taken from him. _Only _if he is, is she to kill him."

"You know I don't buy that."

"If so, then why haven't you made good on your threat?"

"There's more happening here than me and you, Methusael." Adah said, almost challenging. "Clearly, you haven't believed me."

Methusael made a frustrated sigh that was more of a quiet snort. "Your argument was rather weak." he said in his defense. "Whatever the case, why must you always be at my throat?"

"Because if I back off in the _slightest,_ you'll stab me in the back."

"I will not. As I've said before, Adah, you're very valuable to me, and you're just as much in this as I am."

"You gave me little choice. And besides, how do I know you won't do me in out of spite?"

Methusael didn't answer.

"You know, Methusael, I used to admire you, before this all began." Adah remarked. "Maybe even attracted to you somewhat, and don't pretend that doesn't mean anything to you, because I know you're attracted to me. But that all has since changed. You may seem...mm...okay at a first glance, Methusael, for a military creature. But then I have to take into consideration everything that you've done. If you really wanted me, Methusael, you shouldn't have pulled me into this. Or, better still, you shouldn't have done this at all. Because all that it has done for you is give you enemies."

She then turned around and marched out of the study without waiting for a reply from Methusael. "I'll send the messenger." she called back as she went.

And then Methusael was left alone in the study to contemplate the conversation.

* * *

Since the time Grim had spotted them, the two mice had since vanished back into the cottages the village of Angola contained. This did not bother the patrols from the royal guard in the slightest, but seeing that they never knew of the two mice in the first place, that wasn't so surprising. However, later, two were going to wish they had known about it.

They were two foxes, who hadn't had too much experience under their belts yet, and were wandering the streets of the village randomly as they sought to carry out their standing orders; locate and arrest any and all members of the Angolian rebellion. However, like the rest of the royal guard, they weren't having much luck. They didn't even have a clue as to who might be a rebel and who might not be one. Which one of them seriously wondered if that might something.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if there's any actual truth to this rebellion." the fox remarked to his companion.

His companion gave him a look. "You crazy?" he asked. "How could there _not _be any truth to it?"

"Well, what if his lordship has been overexaggerating the seriousness of the situation? What if the rebellion isn't really that bad?"

"Then how do you explain the events that's been happening around here? Are you saying that they didn't happen?"

"No, of course not, it happened. No one can deny that. I'm just saying that a lot of things just aren't adding up about all of this."

"Well, I will give you that much. Some of this is highly...irregular."

"Aye. Like Methusael suddenly taking over in Lord Kani's stead."

"Now don't you go touching that subject."

"But we can't ignore it. Lord Kani's disappearance has a lot of unanswered questions to it, and something about it doesn't seem to add up in my mind. It seems very convenient, even."

His companion was silent for a moment. "Like Master Methusael had planned for it to happen?" he asked.

"Possibly."

"But you speak of treason!"

"So I do. But you can't deny that it's possible."

And he was right. His companion couldn't argue that point and fell silent.

Then they suddenly heard something hidden in the space in-between two cottages. Stopping, they turned to look. They didn't see anything, but something had clearly moved down there.

"Something worth checking out?" the fox's companion asked.

"Probably." the fox said, gripping his stave tighter. "Let's go look around."

They started down the alley, looking around for any signs of any creatures. They got about halfway down before pausing. They looked like they were considering turning back to look again, when two loaded slings suddenly whacked them in the back of their heads, knocking them out like lights. Toppling over, Moroni and Amulek stood over the two fallen guards, looking self-satisfied.

"Well good, that worked out nicely." Moroni said, bending down to begin undoing the clasps to one of the two foxes's uniforms.

"I still say this is a very bad idea." Amulek said, who still had misgivings about the whole plan. "What about when these guys wake back up?"

"We'll be long gone by then." Moroni said.

"Yes, but they won't be wearing much." Amulek said as he started undressing the other fox.

"They'll know someone stole their uniforms, yes, but they won't know who, or why." Moroni said as he worked. "Besides, we circled the village about a dozen times earlier to determine which patrol would be the most ideal to attack, and we picked this one. I'd say we're safe from any repercussions from this for the time being."

"It's afterwards that I'm worried about."

"You're so negative, Amulek. You should look at things from the bright side more often."

"I do! For instance, there's a bright side in the fact that we were able to convince Sister Daisy to sit this one out."

"Ah yes, I can't believe she wanted to come along and help for this. I suppose she wanted to make sure we weren't too rough with them. Still, it's good that she didn't come along."

"Aye, this is really a job for males, seeing these two are males themselves."

Soon, they had removed the uniforms from both foxes, leaving them stripped down to their undergarments. Quickly, they placed the stolen uniforms in a haversack and donned the cloaks they had shed for the event and prepared to depart.

"Act casual." Moroni whispered to Amulek before they exited the alley.

And so they did, walking out into the street and heading home, trying to act unsuspicious and like nothing had happened. And it worked, nobody ever suspected the pair of clocked mice, and the two stunned foxes were none the wiser about the details of what happened. In fact, nobody knew they were there until they came stumbling out some time later, and, embarrassed, went to report in to their commanding officer, who reportedly got quite a kick out of their predicament.


	39. Chapter 38

Alexander-centric chapter, as I introduce a situation to keep the characters over there busy for now until I can move further with their storyline. It's either this or not do anything at all until I'm ready for them. Next chapter will be a Redwall chapter, hopefully featuring some more minor action, depending on how everything fits. Oh, and nobody's been reviewing much lately. Only got one review for last chapter, and none at all for the two before it. I'm sure you've all got good reasons, but reviews are what fuels me to write more chapters, so...please review. :)

Chapter 38

As Alexander had no idea what kind of time schedule the followers of Gemini used, and being not at all adapted to it either way, the young squirrel naturally slept in the following day. Back at Redwall Abbey, the day only started when you decided to get up and out of bed. That had always worked for Alexander. He didn't usually sleep in too late, as his body usually just woke up whenever the time was right on it's own around the middle of the morning, and even if he tried to, his mother wouldn't have let him. If he slept much later than that, he could always count on Aquila to get him up on time.

So he kept sleeping. That is until the teacher let himself into the room to wake Alexander up himself.

"Alexander, it is time to awaken and continue with your classes." the teacher prompted surprisingly soothingly.

Alexander awoke with a start, and looked around blearily. Right away, he saw that it was much too early for him to get up at his usual time. The sun was only just beginning to rise outside. He moaned, and simply rolled over with the intent of sleeping further.

"Alexander." the teacher prompted again, this time a little sterner. He rubbed at the squirrel with his paws. "It is time to get up."

"Five more minutes." Alexander mumbled without thinking.

"You already have gotten more than that. You were supposed to be up ten minutes ago."

"'Tis too early."

"We will fix that." the teacher said, and pulled back the bed covers and off of Alexander.

The squirrel shuddered and promptly curled into a ball the moment the warmth of the covers vanished. "It's too early." he repeated, rubbing at his eyes and trying not to shiver. "I need sleep."

"Sleeping too long is an unneeded practice, and one that Gemini has taught us encourages wickedness to grow." the mouse argued softly. He tilted his head. "I suppose I should have realized that we would have this problem sooner, however, considering your origins."

"Mm." Alexander grunted, forcing himself to sit up despite his instincts not to. He rubbed at his eyes, and yawned. "At home, we slept as long as we wanted, usually."

"No more. Such practices are evil and wicked."

"Wickedness, it always goes back down to..." Alexander caught himself, and trailed off. He bowed his head in submissions. "Yes, teacher." he said instead.

The teacher brightened slightly at this. "Very good, I see that you are learning." he said, and turned to leave. "Dress yourself, and then head for the cafeteria for breakfast. Afterwards, you will have more classes to attend."

_Joy_. Alexander thought sarcastically, stretched to try and wake himself up better. Once the teacher left, he did as he was asked and dressed himself in the same sky blue habit he wore the day before, and exited the room to head towards the cafeteria.

"Welcome to day two of this torture." he muttered under his breath.

But he had not forgotten the instructions Terra and Deni had told him the day previous, which was basically act the part. Alexander had been practicing with Deni whenever the time presented itself, which wasn't often, but it wasn't too hard to see how it worked. And Alexander had already been putting this to practice, as evidenced with his conversation with the teacher, when he opted to act submissive. The idea was that to the elders of the Gemini worshipers would think that he was slowly starting to fit in and becoming one of them, when quite the opposite was happening.

If anything, every hour longer Alexander spent in this place drove him further away from their transparent teachings. He wouldn't fall for their oh-so-creatively phrased teachings of wickedness, and now felt guilty for even being interested in these teachings to begin with. But little could be done about that now. He was just going to have to make the best of a bad situation on his own, with, of course, some help from friends.

As he journeyed to the cafeteria, he was joined by a few other creatures of vary ages and species who were also late to arrive for breakfast, whatever reasons those were. No one spoke to each other, and they all seemed to ignore Alexander, if not each other as well. He wasn't entirely sure why. He guessed they had all just been brainwashed to be like that.

At the cafeteria, the room was already mostly filled with dining creatures. Alexander promptly got in line to get his own food, as he, as usual, felt ravishingly hungry, and wondered not for the first time if he was ever going to be properly fed in this place. Of course, his higher-than-usual hunger was helpful in the fact that it enabled him to down the bland but filling food they served here easier.

Once he had his food, he turned to seek out a table, preferably one where Deni was already sitting at. The grey squirrel sat alone, it seemed, at least eh was at dinnertime yesterday before Alexander joined him. He half-expected Terra to be there too, but as Deni explained that evening, Terra, being older than them, usually stayed with his age group so to avoid drawing too much suspicion. Finding Deni finally, he went and sat down with his newfound friend.

"Good morning, Brother Deni." Alexander greeted politely as he arrived at the table. "May I sit here."

"You may, Brother Alexander." Deni greeted back just as politely. "Good morning to you as well."

Alexander nodded, and sat down across from his friend, yawning as he did so, still trying to wake up fully.

"Sleep well?" Deni asked, noticing the yawn.

"More or less." Alexander admitted. "Up earlier than I'm used to."

"It is a common issue with newcomers. You will adjust in time."

"Aye, but I won't enjoy it."

Deni couldn't help but grin, then changed the subject, growing more serious. "Alexander, would you care to help with something?" he asked, lowering his voice.

Sensing this had something to do with their rebellion of sorts, Alexander nodded, and leaned closer to listen.

"Apparently we have yet another newcomer." Deni explained, and nodded his head in the creature's general direction. "He must arrived sometime during the night, or during one of yesterday's classes."

Alexander turned to look and saw a young shrew about a season or two older than them both sitting a few tables away from them. Like everyone else, he wore the trademark sky blue habit, but it looked like it was done unwillingly, and that the garment had to be forced on him, as it was disheveled and wrinkled. He also wore a glare that Alexander knew only a shrew could achieve, and was only picking at his food, looking like he didn't want to eat it so to just rebel, but his hunger was getting the better of him. He looked much like how Alexander felt on his first day here, only minus the fear.

"What's his story, I wonder." Alexander wondered aloud.

"I do not know, but we will find out soon enough." Deni remarked, picking up his tray and rising. "Come, and follow my lead. I will show you how this is done."

Alexander picked up his tray and followed Deni over to the table the shrew sat at, alone. If he noticed the two squirrels coming, he didn't acknowledge their presence, even when they had arrived at the table.

"Good morning, brother, may we sit here?" Deni asked politely.

"If yeh must." the shrew muttered without looking up. "Can't really stop yeh, now can I?"

He spoke with a usual shrew accent, which Alexander enjoyed hearing again in this place where no one here spoke with any kind of accent. Even Alexander realized that he had a slight accent that he hadn't ever noticed until he came here. It felt out of place to hear all of these grammatically correct manners of speaking that Alexander was quite happy to hear a accent as strong as the shrew's again, and made him grin as he sat down.

The shrew, however, was not smiling, and wasn't paying much attention to the two newcomers. Alexander looked to Deni, who was clearly thinking of the best direction to take before continuing.

"What is your name, brother?" he asked first.

"Surt." the shrew remarked flatly. "An' drop th' brother stuff, will yeh? Real annoyin', that."

Alexander ventured to make a comment at this. "I take it that you only recently arrived here, then." he remarked.

"Aye." the shrew said, his eyes narrowing, then without warning, suddenly howled upwards at the ceiling, "_But only because these blasted beasts dragged me 'ere!_"

A few heads turned to look at the shrew in surprise for the outburst, and Deni seemed quite taken aback by the outburst, clearly not having expected it. Alexander was surprised, too, but could relate with Surt on the matter, as he inwardly felt the same way. Furthermore, he knew shrews very well; the Guosim visited Redwall on a regular basis, usually in time for a feast. He knew how hotheaded and short-tempered they could be. Deni, however, didn't seem to be so blessed, as he still hadn't recovered from his surprised at the outburst, so Alexander again worked to continue the conversation once the on looking creatures resumed what they were doing.

"What fraction of shrews were you with?" he asked.

"_Am _I with." Surt corrected hotly, jabbing his fork at Alexander, then replied, "It's the Guos."

"Guos?" Deni repeated, unfamiliar with the term.

"Guerilla Union of Shrews." Alexander clarified. "But they're all split up into various fractions all across the countryside. I have never heard of a universal one for all of them."

"That's 'cause we ain't." Surt stated. "Guos's for short."

"What's the _full _name of your tribe, then?" Deni asked, finally finding his voice.

"The Guerilla Union of Shrews To The Southwestern Parts of Mossflower." Surt reiterated proudly.

"Or Guosttswpom." Alexander provided to Deni, trying to be helpful.

"Actually, there's no 'W', so it'd be Guosttspom." Surt corrected.

Deni just looked lost about the whole matter and said nothing.

"So where are yeh from, squirrel?" Surt asked Alexander.

"I'm Alexander. And I'm from Redwall Abbey within Mossflower."

"Heard of it, but never been there. Wish I 'ad, 'eard they've got really good food there."

"Wonderfully good food, much better than these meals."

"That goes without sayin'. Are yeh new 'ere too, 'cause yeh don't sound like 'im." Surt jabbed a claw at Deni, who was still slightly flabbergasted by the shrew.

"Aye, I've only been here for a day, now." Alexander replied.

"Really? An' 'ow did these crazy beasts lure _you _'ere?"

"Uh, I was kidnaped, actually, and drugged for most of the journey, at least as far as I can figure."

"Huh, not me. Me an' me dad were just walkin' by this place headin' east t' meet up with a scoutin' party when this lot attacked us fer no good reason. I 'eld 'em off as best as I could, so I did, even killed a few, but, confound it, there were too many o' 'em, knocked me out, an' next thing I remember is wakin' up 'ere in this crazy place."

"What happened to your father?"

"They killed 'im."

"Oh."

"Aye. I intend t' kill all 'o these looney cult-followers for it next chance I can lay paw on an effective weapon for that." Surt examined his wooden fork for a moment. "Too bad they don't give yeh knives with these meals. Even if they are plain ol' wooden butterknives, t'would be better than nuttin'."

"Now wait, hold on just a moment here before we go much further with this line of thinking." Deni interrupted, finally working to take control of the conversation again. "Surt, as amorous as those plans are, you can't just decide you're going to kill everyone here and _leave_."

"Why not?" Surt asked, annoyed at this neglect in confidence. "Been givin' this lot a real run for their money all mornin'. Belted a few o' 'em in th' snout real good earlier, an' threw a real fit when they dragged me 'ere. Either I finally manage t' overwhelm 'em, or they just decide I ain't worth keepin' an' kick me out. Then I could go an' rally me mates an' we'll come back 'ere and give this place a real beatin'."

"But you can't do that!" Deni said urgently, lowering his voice. "They won't let it go that far!"

"Whaddya mean they won't 'let it go that far'?"

"He means they'll kill you if you keep fighting them." Alexander explained, seeing where Deni was going with this.

"Or worse." Deni added.

Surt mocked the idea. "Wot could possibly be worse than death, mate?" he asked hotly, and loudly, which made Deni on edge. "Yeh're just tryin' t' scare me, ain'tcha?"

"No, I'm not, I'm telling you the truth." Deni said, looking around to see if anyone was paying them too much attention who shouldn't. "Look, I've been here far longer than either you or Alexander have. I've seen things you haven't. I've seen creatures twice as strong and bold spirited as you are, shrew, change into one of _them_, over_night_."

"How?" Surt challenged, not believing.

"I don't know how. Whatever the case, I don't like it here any more than you do. What they're doing here is very wrong. But..."

"If yeh don't like 'ere, then 'elp me git out o' 'ere! There's power in number, y'know."

"I-I _can't_!"

"Why not?" Surt suddenly gave the pair a very suspicious look. "Yeh don't..._like_ it 'ere, do yeh?"

"No!" Deni exclaimed.

"Wot about you, squirrel?" Surt pointed at Alexander.

"Heavens, no!" Alexander promptly replied.

"Then _'elp _me!"

"We can't, we don't have the numbers!" Deni pressed. "If we try to make a move against the followers of Gemini, they'll slay us on the spot!"

"Yeh afraid o' dyin' treerat?" Surt spat, looking like he had about heard enough.

Deni paused, unsure how to address the accusation. "First off, I'm a squirrel." he corrected, offended to be called anything else. "Second, I don't think you really see just how serious..."

"Git outta 'ere!" Surt finally snapped, rising, again drawing unneeded attention to himself. "If yeh aren't with me, then yeh're against me! Now _git_!"

Alexander and Deni looked at one another, and then promptly turned and left the table, leaving Surt to the peace he wanted. He watched the two leave with daggered eyes, then sat back down at the table to resume eating. Alexander looked back and the enraged shrew, then at the many eyes that were watching them move. It made him feel uncomfortable, especially when he wondered how much about the conversation they might know.

"They're looking at us..." Alexander whispered to Deni.

"Hush." Deni urged. "They'll only see Surt as the one to question due to his outburst, and not us."

Alexander wasn't reassured much, but he dropped that aspect of the subject. "That could've gone better, couldn't have?"

"Much." Deni agreed sternly. "That shrew has a lot of spirit and gumption, but a bad temper."

"That's bad, isn't it?"

Deni made a frustrated sigh and didn't respond right away. "If he keeps it up, it can be." he admitted finally.

"So...what now?"

"Now we hope that Surt wises up before he does something he'll live to regret. _If _he lives."


	40. Chapter 39

Redwall chapter, with extra emphasis on Charles again. Things move along. Next chapter will wrap up a few things in Angola, then after that I'm going to be working at tying everything in this story together...starting with Kani and Mathoni. ;) As I probably won't post again until after the holiday, Merry Christmas, Happy holidays, all that jazz. :)

Chapter 39

Malachi had been kept busy the past few days. With the arrival of the Quorum of Warriors, Redwall had been forced to switch to being self-sufficient. Thankfully, the abbey was well equipped to do so, growing and producing most of it's foods and supplies itself, but there were a fair number of things that they usually obtained from outside the abbey walls. In the event, though, that a situation such as this ever arose, the abbey kept a small amount of these items in stores.

Part of Malachi's job had been bringing these items out of storage for use. When he wasn't doing that, he was helping his father, Machaerus take stock of the food and, of course, help prepare meals. Then there was the first battle, and Charles was sent to the Infirmary afterwards, leaving Malachi to take full responsibility for what he cook. Which went as rough as always. Thankfully, his father caught him before he made too many critical errors every time, and attributed his poor cooking to the stress of the siege and thankfully didn't press the matter.

By late afternoon of the day after the first real battle, Malachi had, of course, heard all about Charles's situation. Word of it had quickly spread across the abbey, unable to be kept contained. The elders finally permitted it to happen, deciding that trying to keep it a secret probably wouldn't be all that wise. Now the abbey was abuzz about two things; the army that had the structure surrounded, and how Charles had fought in the battle the previous night.

Opinions about the latter were mixed. It was quickly agreed that no one had ever thought a mouse as timid and quiet as Charles had it in him to kill seven creatures single-pawed like that, but now no one seemed quite sure how they should think and treat about the poor mouse now. Some wanted to praise Charles for what he did, for he did help keep the abbey safe for another day. Others felt sorry for Charles, thinking that what he did must be a lot for him to take in, especially this as was the first time he had ever been exposed to such a thing. Others further still were apprehensive about Charles, having heard about the demented state he had been found in after the battle was over, and were frightened by it, worried if it was something to be concerned about, and wondered if this demented state would come upon the mouse without warning in the future.

What was certain, however, was that no one could look at Charles in the same way anymore.

Though Malachi certainly wanted to try. That morning, he had dropped by to visit his mouse friend. But Charles hadn't even acknowledged he was there, not turning to look at him, or speaking him, or even acting like he heard him. Thinking that this was a bad sign, Sister Mint then quickly shooed Malachi out, despite the hares protests, and told him to try again later.

In the meantime, Malachi thought a lot about that meeting, and couldn't deny that Charles certainly wasn't the same anymore, and whatever had happened at the battle last night had hit him hard. He worried for his friend, and wondered if Charles would ever be back to normal. For he longed for his old silent friend Charles the mouse.

Now, this afternoon, Malachi was ready to try again, but this time was a little bit more hesitant. Would the results be the same this time around? Would Sister Mint just shoo him off again before he had much chance to say much of anything? Would the short-tempered healer even let him in this time around? Would Charles actually react to his presence?

He stopped all of these thoughts short. Only one way to find out.

He rapped politely upon the Infirmary double doors, then stepped back a pace to wait. He hadn't waited long before Sister Mint opened the door and stuck her head out.

"Oh, it's you." she commented flatly upon seeing Malachi, who stood there sheepishly. "I suppose you're here to try again, hmm?"

"If you please, yes." Malachi said with a nod.

Sister Mint sighed. "All right, come on in, then." she said as she held the door open. "Charles might actually speak to you this time anyway. He did for the abbot, at least."

Malachi turned an ear towards her at this comment, but the healer mouse did not elaborate further, and the young hare felt he would be pushing his luck if he pressed the subject, so he let it drop. Instead, he entered the room as he was bidden, and turned his attention to Charles.

The mouse was sitting up in bed, looking as healthy as could be, while he talked animatedly to the sparrow that still resided in the room in fluent Sparra; much like how Abbot Isaiah had found him earlier that same day. Malachi was heartened to see this, as Charles wasn't speaking in any language at all when he visited the first time, but then Charles had only just woken up at the time. Smiling, the hare made his way towards his friend.

"Nice t' see you sayin' _somethin'_ again, Charles." he remarked as he arrived at the cot.

Charles and the sparrow jumped, and turned to look at him. The sparrow then spun and around and flew up into the rafters like it always did when another creature got too close to it and hid. Charles, however, looked his friend over for a moment, his expression drooping, then sat back in the cot and said nothing.

Malachi bit his lip and glanced at Sister Mint for a moment, who was watching the meeting closely while she busied herself with something else across the room. He turned back to Charles. "C'mon Charles, if you don't talk t' me, Sister Mint's just gonna kick me out again, and I don't want that. I..." he trailed off, his long ears drooping as he played with his claws for a moment, "...I want t' talk t' my friend...dontcha know."

"I don't really want to talk, Malachi." Charles said depressingly, staring straight ahead.

"You were talkin' with your sparrow friend." Malachi pointed out.

"Blackwing's different." Charles said. "He...he doesn't ask me too much."

The two were silent for a moment longer. Malachi again glanced at Sister Mint.

"Y'know, I could've used your help in the kitchens today." Malachi went on, sitting down on a stool. "Fortunately, father was fairly understanding, given present circumstances."

Charles didn't respond. Malachi sought another topic to bring up.

"Heard the abbot paid you a visit." he stated suddenly, remembering Sister Mint's mention of such. "What did you talk about with him?"

Charles still didn't respond, but sank lower into the cot, looking ashamed now. Malachi winced as he realized why.

"You talked about the battle last night...didn't you?" he asked.

Charles was silent for a moment. Then he nodded slowly.

"Y'know, I heard that regardless of the circumstances, you were a big help that night." Malachi pointed out, trying to cheer up his friend. "No one really thought you had a warrior's spirit in you. I mean, who'd have thought it, eh?" he grinned.

Charles didn't share his feelings on the matter. "I killed seven creatures, Malachi, that's not something to be proud of." he said bitterly.

"Other warriors don't treat it like that."

"They're just trying to hide the fact that spilling blood is a terrible, terrible, thing." a pause. "And I'm not a warrior. I never wanted to be one. Not like this."

"You are now, after what you did last night."

"I never meant to kill anybeast!"

"Then wot were you doin' out there, pickin' daisies? If you thought you couldn't handle it, that you didn't want it, then why did you try?"

Charles didn't reply right away. "I guess I didn't see then what I see now." he admitted. "Maybe I was just after the glory you seem to think comes with...with this. But there is no glory. Only guilt, stained paws and weapons, and one less creature in the world."

Malachi was silent for a moment. "Is that how you feel?"

Charles nodded. "It's bad enough that... that I did the unthinkable, and stained my paws with another's blood. Much less seven times over."

"They were seven enemy creatures, that were attackin' you and this abbey, Charles."

"They were still living beings, Malachi, that doesn't justify anything!"

"They would've _killed _you if you hadn't done somethin'!"

Charles had no retort to that, and fell silent. Malachi also let the subject drop, and inwardly sought a new one that would be a bit more cheerful.

Charles wasn't finished discussing the matter, however. "What do the others think about me, Malachi?" he asked suddenly and innocently.

Malachi was taken aback by the question, and hesitated to respond. Across the room, still listening, Sister Mint looked up sharply, and turned to watch. Malachi bit his lip for a long moment before he finally just burst out the answer.

"Well, wot do you bloomin' well expect 'em t' think, Charles?" he asked, flustered at being put on the spot. "According t' the tale, you went mad up on those walls, and it took _eight _creatures t' stop you! The idea of someone like you bein' capable of doin' that is...well, t' be truthful, frightenin'! It's made everybody in this bloomin' abbey look at you in a whole new light, one no one would ever expect to look at you with. And it's made them see that if that's happened t' you...who else might there be who's the same?"

"So they hate me." Charles summarized.

"No, no, they don't hate you." Malachi quickly corrected. "They just..." he sighed, frustrated. "They just don't know what to think anymore, Charles. You've...changed. And nobody likes change."

"The important thing here is that you're still a Redwaller, Charles." Sister Mint spoke up suddenly and unexpectedly, moving over to join them. "You're just as much one of us as you have always been. You have not been dragged down lower simply because you took the life of another creature." she paused, her entire demeanor changing from her usual strict attitude to a much softer and caring persona few seldom saw from her. "No one hates you for what you did Charles, and no one ever will." she continued. "The only one who _does _look down upon you...is yourself."

Charles was silent for a moment, and lowered his gaze, feeling ashamed again.

"If you're ever going to live a normal life again, Charles, you'll need to forgive yourself for that, eh wot?" Malachi pointed out, seeing where Sister Mint was going with this.

Charles was quiet for a moment. "I can't do that." he admitted.

"Well...that's your choice, Charles." Sister Mint said with a sigh. "You best learn to live with it, then." She paused for a moment. "Malachi, I think it's time for you to leave."

Malachi nodded silently, and without protest, he turned to leave. He sensed it was time for him to leave as well. Sister Mint turned and went back to what she was doing, leaving Charles lying in the bed, pondering.

* * *

Malachi wasn't the only one to pay Charles a visit that evening. As the sun started to set, Skipper Rowe also turned up at the Infirmary, the repeating crossbow Charles had obtained the night previous in his paws.

"Thank ye, Sister Mint." he said when he was allowed in. "I don't plan on bein' long."

He then turned his attention to Charles himself. This time around, the young, troubled, mouse was alone, tucked tightly into the bed and lying like he planned to take a nap. He was wide awake, however, his eyes staring unfocused straight ahead of him. Rowe looked at the crossbow in his paws for a moment, then sighed, and approached the bed.

"Charles," he began, "I, uh, understand ye 'aven't 'ad th' best of days t'day."

Charles didn't reply, but one of his ears swivelled around to listen.

"Look," Rowe said, kneeling down to be more on Charles's eye level, "I know wot ye're goin' through. Havin' slain a few creatures meself in me lifetime, I can relate. 'Tis never a pretty thing, takin' th' life of a creature, no matter wot th' reasons, even if for all th' right 'uns. T'ain't easy t' deal with. At all. But ye can't stay 'ere an' mop about it forever."

He waited to see if Charles would give any responses to that. He didn't. So Rowe continued.

"Y'know, ye've got it lucky, ye've 'ad th' chance t' stop an' brew about wot 'appened." Rowe pointed out. He sighed. "I wasn't so lucky. When I was forced t' kill for th' first time...th' circumstances were much worse. See, I 'ad just watched me father...me big brave father that I 'ad always looked up t', that 'ad always seemed like the mighty, powerful, unbeatable warrior, be killed in battle. Protectin' me from 'arm. Then when he was dead, I 'ad t' take up arms an' defend meself. When I slew a creature...I couldn't take th' time t'deal with me protestin' conscious. I had t' keep killin'...or I'd be th' 'un killed. An' even after that, I couldn't stop an' mope about wot was done. Because after that battle, I 'ad no 'ome t' turn t', an' no livin' family that I was on good terms, either." he paused for a moment, eyes glistening as he remembered. "T'weren't an easy season for me, but I learned from it, an' more importantly, I survived." he sniffed, and wiped at his eyes with the back of his paw before continuing. "I...don't speak 'bout it much, Charles. For obvious reasons. But if anybeast needed t' 'ear about it right now, it's you."

He glanced at the mouse, and saw that he was indeed listening. Rowe glanced down at the repeating crossbow still in his paws, and carefully placed it on the bedside table next to the cot, where Charles could see it.

"Now, about why I'm 'ere." Rowe continued, changing the subject. "Night's fallin'. I expect those religious extremists out there t' try again wot they tried last night, but with different tactics. I could really use every creature I can get out there t'night. Includin' you, Charles." he pushed the repeating crossbow closer to the mouse, who recoiled slightly. "I know ye probably don't want anythin' t' do with this thing anymore, but no one can deny ye can use it. That skill would prove t' be really useful if it came down t' a skirmish. So...I guess I'm tryin' t'...invite...ye t' 'elp defend the abbey again t'night." he paused, watching Charles's expression. It hadn't changed. "If ye don't, though...I certainly won't hold it against ye."

And with that, he rose and left the room without another word, clearing his throat as he went. Charles watched him go, then silently turned back to look at the crossbow sitting on the nightstand.

* * *

Darkness fell quickly upon the abbey that night. Defenders lined the walls and watched the surrounding army closely, awaiting for them to try and strike. Thus far, the army had done nothing to attack, but they had done the same thing the night previous. Rowe was confident as he, himself, eyed the army's many ranks that they would try again to take Redwall.

Illia strolled up to the elder otter as he did this. "Reportin' in Skip." she announced simply. "We 'ave defenders on all the walls, so that not one part of it is left undefended."

"Aye." Rowe replied distractedly.

"Tobias told me t' tell ye that th' enemy ranks 'round th' north, west, an' south walls has been thinnin'." Illia continued solemnly. "They've been fallin' back an' gatherin' 'ere at th' gates in one great group."

"Aye, I noticed." Rowe said, nodding. "Last night they tried t' attack with their forces spread all around th' abbey. They didn't 'ave a concentrated enough group at any 'un spot t' punch through our defenses because of it. This time, I'll bet me rudder that they're goin' t' try a more concentrated attack in one spot, see if they can overwhelm us."

"So they're plannin' t' attack, then." Illia summarized.

Rowe nodded. "An' soon."

It was just a question of when, after that. Another hour passed as little action occurred on either side. Then, finally, without warning, the Quorum of Warriors started firing off arrows and attacking at the gates with the same ferocity and vigor they had used the night previous. The Redwallers quickly worked to fight back.

"Everybeast, stand yore ground, give 'em all we've got!" Rowe ordered loudly as the battle raged. "Archers, keep shootin'! Ye're th' only thing keepin' 'em back! Illia, go t' th' other walls and grab some of the defenders from there, were there's no fightin'. We need the added 'elp 'ere!"

"Aye, Skipper!" Illia said, and hurried off to carry out the order. A little while later, she came back, hollering at the top of her lungs. "Skip! The battle's a diversion! Tobias an' his defenses on th' west wall 'ave a party of creatures with ladder tryin' t' climb up the walls! They need more 'elp!"

"Plauges n' pestilence, wot I need is more creatures!" Rowe cursed, slapping the ramparts with his paws, feeling helpless as he watched the battle continue. "That, or somethin' t' turn th' tide, fast!" he looked around quickly, then pointed a claw at a few archers. "Ye two there! Go around t' the west wall an' 'elp fight over there!"

The battle continued for a few moments. Then, suddenly, one of the otters in Rowe's command spied something. "Hey!" he exclaimed, pointing with a claw. "Ain't that th' lot's commander?"

He pointed deep into the opposing army's ranks where the otter commander stood, giving orders to her army, while the weasel teacher stood nearby watching the battle calmly. Rowe hurried over to look at them, then turned to his archers.

"Somebeast shoot that creature!" he ordered. "That might turn th' tide for us!"

"We tried already, Skip, our bows don't 'ave that kind of range!" the closest of the archers replied while firing off arrows. "We can't reach her from 'ere!"

Rowe let out a frustrated yell. "There must be something we can do!" he roared.

It was then, over the noise and commotion of the battle that he heard a familiar voice speaking politely but sternly and urgently as he moved up the steps leading up to the walltops full of bustling creatures.

"Excuse me, excuse me please. Coming through. Pardon me. Excuse me, please."

Rowe turned in time to see Charles mount the final step on the staircase, fully dressed. In one paw he carried the repeating crossbow, fully loaded. He didn't look happy to be here, but he was here, and looked ready to fight.

"Charles?" Rowe asked in surprise, nonetheless.

"Move please, Skipper Rowe." Charles said sternly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he moved towards the ramparts, readying the crossbow for firing.

"Charles!" Rowe said again, still surprised that the mouse had come.

"I said move!" Charles repeated harshly, his anger starting to get the better of him as he allowed the influences of the battle to bring on a mild state of Bloodwrath.

Pushing past Rowe, he snapped the crossbow up into the firing position, and took aim, targeting the otter commander. Within a second, he had his shot lined up, and fired. And where the Redwallers bows and arrows had failed them, the repeating crossbow pulled through, and the fired arrow hit home, striking the otter commander's shoulder, piercing her copper-colored armor. With a yelp, she grabbed at the arrow, and went down within the ranks of her army and vanished from sight. The weasel teacher quickly hurried forward to help her.

Word that their commander had been injured spread quickly through the ranks of the Quorum of Warriors. And such an event seemed to have startled them, for a commotion quickly broke out within their ranks, and their attack started to crumble. Suddenly leaderless, the army couldn't keep the attack going like it had been. It meandered on for a little while, before the attack failed altogether, and the army finally fell back to lick it's wounds.

Silence fell upon the abbey.

Only then did Charles lower the crossbow, and step back from the ramparts. Rowe turned to look at him, as did Illia. Charles looked back at them for a moment, calming down again, then he lowered his head, and turned to go, silently, and without a word.

"Charles," Rowe said quickly, stopping the mouse quickly by grabbing his shoulder. He paused long enough to be sure he had Charles's attention. "Thank ye."

Charles looked back at him. "You're welcome." he replied.

"Y'know, ye didn't 'ave t' do that."

Charles was silent for a moment. "Sometimes," he began, "You can't stop and mope."

And with that, he turned and left, Rowe and Illia, watching the mouse go.


	41. Chapter 40

Angola-centric chapter, and I got on a roll with it, me thinks ye'll like it, mates. ;) Next chapter will feature Kani and Mathoni.

Chapter 40

Like everywhere else in the world, night fell calmly upon Angola, but for Methusael pacing anxiously in the study, he was fairly certain that the calm wasn't going to last. And he had two things that were providing evidence supporting that. First, was a message laying on his desk from his mercenaries talking about the suspicious looking mice they had observed wandering around within the village. Grim also inquired in his message if he and Sais should hunt them down and dispose of them, but Methusael hesitated, unsure what this evidence could mean for him.

Then, later in the day, he had received a written report from the royal guard stating that two foxes on patrol in the village had been lured into an alleyway and attacked, being knocked unconscious. When they awoke, they found that their attackers were long gone...as were their uniforms. It was such an odd event that the commanding officers within the royal guard weren't thinking too much about the event, and didn't really think it meant much of anything. Methusael, however, disagreed. He was convinced there was a reason for all of this, and that there was somehow a connection in all of this.

And finally, after having given the matter several hours thought, he believed he had an idea what was going on.

A knock came at the study door. Methusael turned to look at the door, then seated himself at the desk. "Enter." he called.

The royal guard's ranking officer, Juniper, then entered, and saluted. "You sent for me, milord?" he asked politely.

"I did, Juniper, and I have a few new orders for you." Methusael said. "How many creatures from the royal guard are currently out on patrol at the moment?"

"Two-thirds, sire. The remaining one-third are here to either deal with matters here, or their duration to be on patrol has ended for the moment."

"Not anymore. I want that one-third sent out into the village, armed, and ready for anything."

Juniper was surprised. "Milord?"

"I have reason to believe that the rebels are plotting to try something, possibly tonight." Methusael stated. "I don't know what, or how big, but this could be our last chance to catch the rebels in the act peacefully."

Juniper hesitated. "Very well, milord, but if I may ask, what has caused you to believe this? The rebels have actually been rather quiet the past few days."

"Perhaps to the unobservant eye." Methusael said, rising from his seat and turning to look out the window. "But I know better, and I have my sources. There has been some very suspicious things going on in that village this past day. Like, for instance, the incident in which two members of the royal guard were stripped of their uniforms."

Juniper suddenly let out a snort of suppressed laughter. "Sorry milord." he quickly apologized when Methusael looked at him. "But I fail to see what that has to do with anything. We in the royal guard were really just thinking that the rebels are just trying to tease us now. I mean, why else would they want our uniforms?"

"For disguises." Methusael stated bluntly.

Juniper blinked, blushing with embarrassment that he hadn't thought of that. "Oh." he said. Then paused. "Disguises for what, exactly?"

"That I don't know." Methusael admitted, sitting back down in his chair, only to turn it back around to face the window. He had given the matter some serious thought, but couldn't find an answer he was entirely pleased with as of yet.

"Well, it can't be themselves." Juniper reasoned. "Mice are too small to wear uniforms for the royal guard. They're really designed for..."

"...foxes." Methusael concluded suddenly, his eyes brightening. He stood. "That's it." he realized, then turned to face Juniper. "Juniper, gather a party of your troops and head down into the dungeons and investigate _every _cell." he paused, suddenly getting a better idea. "No wait, on second thought, get every fox the royal guard has to offer and send them into the village. Half are to continue patrolling the streets as usual. The rest I want to surround the village entirely, and stand guard. No one is to get in or out without my _written _authorization. You're to be on the look out for mice in cloaks, accompanied by two members of the royal guard. One of those two members will likely prove to be female upon closer examination."

"Female, sire?" Juniper inquired, not seeing where Methusael was going with all of this.

Methusael didn't want to waste precious time explaining. "You heard me." he said, pulling out a clean sheet of parchment and dipping a quill in ink to begin writing a message. "Now go, and do it! And send for Adah! I want to see her, immediately!"

"Yes, milord!" Juniper said, bowing quickly, then hurrying out to carry out the unexpected orders.

A few moments later, Adah entered the study, looking cross. "You bellowed, your lordship?" she asked contemptuously.

Methusael ignored the jibe, and instead finished his message, sealed it with the royal cress as he usually did, and stuffed the message into Adah's paw. "See to it that is delivered to my mercenaries immediately. I want them to watch Midnight Castle like a hawk all night tonight, from every angle. I want every entrance and exit watched, including any possible secret ones! I want to know every creature who leaves the castle, and where they exit. If they miss any, I'll have their hides, be sure to emphasis that!"

"Got a bee in your bonnet, hmm?" Adah asked as she took the message, unimpressed at Methusael's show of force.

"Not now Adah, just do what I've asked, now!" Methusael exclaimed, and shooed her with one paw.

Adah gave him a glare, but bowed and obeyed, exiting the study again. Alone once more, Methusael turned back to look out the window, allowing himself a pleased grin.

"I'm on to you rebels, and I'll have you yet." he murmured aloud to himself.

* * *

And sadly enough, the rebels knew nothing of it.

"Is everybody in here that's coming in here?" Moroni asked as the last of the creatures who were going to help with the breakout slipped into the tunnel.

"Think so." Neph replied, who was bringing up the rear. "We have two more creatures standing guard at the cave's entrance, and I see everyone we need in here."

"Okay, then, let's get going with this." Moroni said, moving towards the brick wall the divided them from Bluejay and Mordecai. Using the chisel that he and Amulek had used to make the peephole in the wall, he used it to stick through the hole, clearing it of the cloth-like obstruction that blocked it. "Bluejay, Mordecai, are you there?"

There was a pause. "Yes, captain, we are here." Mordecai replied from the other side of the peephole. "We have been awaiting your arrival."

"Figured as much." Moroni said with a nod. "We're going to try and get you two out of there. Are there any guards nearby or anything we need to worry about?"

"None that I know of." Mordecai said. "Hold on one moment, Bluejay is double-checking." a momentary pause followed. "It would seem that there is no one around, but us, captain."

"Good." Moroni said, and nodded to Amulek, Hyrum, Neph, and Ammon, who carried tools to help them bring down the wall that divided them from the prisoners. "Sit tight for the time being, and let us know about any potential problems."

He then joined the other four in helping chip mortar from the bricks that held the wall together, working to slowly free the bricks and disassemble the wall. After a few moments, they were able to pry loose the first brick, pulling out of the wall and setting it aside. Looking inside, they could now clearly see Bluejay and Mordecai waiting patiently in the small cell beyond for the first time, as they could see the mice. The two foxes were indeed alone, and appeared to be physically fine, save for being slightly dirty, and their fur going dull due to being locked up for so long.

"One down, only about two dozen more to go." Amulek remarked, staring in frustration at the rest of the sturdy brick wall.

"Just how long is this going to take, captain?" Bluejay asked, looking mildly worried. "We don't have all the time in the world, here."

"I know." Moroni agreed, panting slightly from the exertion of helping pull free the first brick. "But this is the best plan we've got, and we're committed now, so, cross your claws that this'll all turn out for the best."

Mordecai innocently did so, drawing a grin from Moroni before he got to work helping the others start in on the next brick. In the meantime, Sister Daisy, who was present as well, came forward and approached the open space in the wall.

"Here." she said, pushing the two stolen uniforms they had obtained through the space. "In the meantime, you can be putting these on."

Bluejay took the uniforms and examined them with a frown. "We have to wear these?" she asked.

"If you expect us to get you out of here unnoticed, yes." Hyrum remarked, grunting as he and Ammon worked to pry loose another brick. "If you look like members of the royal guard, we might just be able to get you into the village safely without raising too many questions."

"He's right, of course." Mordecai agreed, taking one of the uniforms from Bluejay, and holding it up against himself to see if it'll fit properly. "You didn't think we would be able to just walk out of here, did you?"

The healer fox rolled her eyes. "I suppose not, but this isn't the ideal of locations for this." she pointed out.

"Can't be helped." Mordecai said, setting aside the uniform. "Look, I'll change first."

He began stripping himself down to his undergarments, as the uniform would not fit over the clothes he was already wearing. Bluejay politely adverted her gaze while he did so. When he was done, Bluejay reluctantly took her turn. By the time they were both fully dressed in the stolen uniforms, the rebel mice had managed to remove enough bricks from the wall that a fairly sizable hole now existed.

"I think that might be just big enough, and we really need to speed this up." Ammon commented.

Moroni nodded in agreement, setting down his tools for a moment. "C'mon then, let's see if you both can fit through now."

Bluejay went first, being slightly smaller and more petite with her feminine frame. She was able to fairly easily slip through the space, helped slightly by the mice on the other side. Mordecai then tried to follow, but while he was able to poke his head and most of his upper body through the hole with ease, it started to become more of an effort to slip through. Not wanting to try and force himself through for fear of getting stuck or injuring himself, he withdrew back into the cell quickly.

"We'll have to make the hole slightly larger." Neph noted, picking up his tools to begin working again.

"Fine, I need a few moments to finish with Bluejay, anyway." Sister Daisy commented, pulling the fox over to one side of the tunnel.

"What do you mean?" Bluejay asked, allowing herself to be moved to one side.

Sister Daisy pulled out some vials of colored powders from her satchel. "We're going to make you look like a red fox." she explained with a slight grin.

By the time the hole was widened and Mordecai was through, Bluejay's revealing greyish fur was gone, hidden under a layer of orange-red coloring that had been rubbed into it. Except for her bright, blue, eyes, she looked like an entirely different fox now, so much so, that Mordecai almost didn't recognize her when he finally slid through the jagged hole that had been made.

"Wow." he remarked, straightening up once he was out of the hole. "Mistress Bluejay, you...er..."

"Are we done here?" Bluejay interrupted hotly, who wasn't too pleased with the fact that she had to wear the coloring, which felt uncomfortable to her.

"Aye, we need to get going." Moroni agreed, pulling on a cloak to disguise himself with, the other mice doing the same. "C'mon, follow my lead. Time for the hard part."

"Hard part?" Bluejay asked. She pointed a claw back at the hole in the wall they had made as they started heading out of the cave. "I thought that _was _the hard part."

"No, that was easy in comparison!" Amulek remarked as they went. "The hard part is making sure we can get you two, unnoticed, into the village, and hidden away into relative safety!"

"I thought these disguises would help against that." Mordecai remarked, grabbing at the uniform he wore.

"It will." Ammon agreed. "But we have no way of knowing if that'll be enough."

"And even if it _is _enough disguise, we _still _look very suspicious all like this." Amulek grumbled. "It's going to take a lot of luck for us to pull this off without a hitch."

"It will also take silence, so shush." Moroni remarked as they reached the cave's entrance. Standing there were the two guards Neph had stated were there, armed and wearing the uniforms of the Angolian militia. Moroni hailed them. "Is the coast clear, you two?" he asked.

"Yes sir." one of the two guards reported. "Haven't seen a soul since we got here. It's all quiet tonight."

"That's a good sign." Hyrum remarked.

"And hopefully a good omen." Moroni said. "Okay, here's the plan. Amulek's right, we _do _look pretty suspicious all grouped together like this, so we're going to leave in separate groups. Hyrum, Ammon, Neph, and Sister Daisy, you go with the two guards and head back into the village ahead of us. Take the long route back. We'll wait five minutes, then me, Amulek, Mordecai, and Bluejay will follow you, taking the short route."

"Now how did I get volunteered for this?" Amulek remarked, putting his paws on his hips.

Moroni didn't comment. "Hopefully," he continued, "if all goes well, we'll all meet back up at Sister Daisy's cottage. If not..." he hesitated, "...then that means something probably happened. At which case, try and come and help us, but do not get yourselves in over your heads. If you cannot help us without risking capture or worse yourselves, then don't try it." he glanced around at the group sternly for a moment, then allowed a nicer expression to fade onto his face. "Hopefully, though, it won't come to that. Everybody clear?"

There were several nods from everyone present, then the first group departed silently into the night, leaving Moroni and Amulek with the two soon-to-be escaping foxes.

"How did I get volunteered for this again?" Amulek asked again, more persistently this time.

Moroni merely sighed, and didn't respond.

* * *

"It certainly is quiet out tonight, even in the village." Sister Daisy noted as the first group approached the borders of the village.

"Does that strike anybeast else as odd?" Hyrum asked, looking on edge. "I mean, it's not that late at night. There still should be _something _going on in the land."

"Maybe it's because of that fog." one of the two guards remarked suddenly, pointing to the east, where a bank of fog was slowly rolling in, threatening to engulf the village.

"Oh by the claw, that can't be good." Ammon commented. "We'll loose all visibility in _that _mess."

"Don't worry, we'll be well inside the village by the time it reaches us." the other guard assured them.

"That's all good for us, but what about Moroni, Amulek, Mordecai, and Bluejay?" Sister Daisy asked.

"I doubt they could get lost in the fog, especially with the village still being so close." Neph assured her. "I don't think they'll have trouble."

"Uh, actually they might." one of the guards suddenly remarked, stopping dead in his tracks.

The mice all paused and looked ahead of them for an explanation. There, standing all around the village, was the royal guard, looking around intently, but with the fog rolling in, they couldn't see far, and thankfully, couldn't see the mice standing not all that far from them. A sense of unease settled upon the group.

"Those creatures weren't there when we left." Hyrum stated obviously.

"Why they here now?" Sister Daisy asked. "What orders have Methusael given them now?"

"I'm more worried about us." Ammon remarked. "It can't be a coincidence that the royal guard turned up here, now. I think they somehow caught on to what we're doing."

"Isn't this kind of the wrong way to go about dealing with a jailbreak?" Neph asked skeptically.

"Whatever the case, how are we going to get past them unnoticed?" Ammon asked.

"And how are Moroni, Amulek, Mordecai, and Bluejay going to get past?" Hyrum asked.

* * *

"There's a fog rolling in." Mordecai noted from the cave's entrance.

"Oh brilliant." Amulek grumbled.

"Actually, this'll be a good thing." Moroni said confidently. "It'll provide cover for us to be able to sneak into the village." he looked around outside the cave. "Speaking of which, I think we've waited long enough."

"So now it's our turn." Bluejay commented.

Moroni nodded, and motioned silently with his paw for them to all head out. Together, the foursome wandered out of the cave and out into the night, quickly and rapidly becoming obscured in the rapidly thickening fog.

What they didn't notice was that their departure was noticed by two creatures that quickly took note of it all.

As they went, Moroni was giving Mordecai and Bluejay instructions.

"Act like members of the royal guard when we enter the village." he was saying. "You've seen what they're like, it shouldn't be hard for you to replicate. And if anybeast asks, me and Amulek are suspicious creatures you are escorting to the castle for questioning."

"But Midnight Castle is that way." Mordecai remarked, pointing behind them at the castle sitting on the plateau, barely visible now except for it's many lights in the fog.

"But the path leading up to it is that way." Moroni said with a grin, pointing further to the left of the castle. He turned to Bluejay. "Bluejay, there may be talking required. Can you throw your voice to sound more...masculine?"

Bluejay gave him a look, but she gave it a shot. "How's this?" she asked, deepening her voice.

Moroni winced. "Maybe you should try and just leave the talking to Mordecai." he decided.

Bluejay frowned.

"Uh...Moroni?" Amulek inquired suddenly, slowing, and motioning to the others to wait for a moment.

"What?" Moroni asked, turning to look. He saw the royal guard surrounding the village ahead, and furrowed his brow. "What are they doing there?"

"Is this a problem?" Mordecai asked.

"It could be, but..." Moroni pulled at his whiskers for a moment. "...there's a chance we can still get past." he turned to Mordecai and Bluejay. "Just stick to the plan, like I told you, okay?"

Bluejay and Mordecai nodded, albeit somewhat nervously. Leading the way, and trying to act like they were escorting the two mice as prisoners, they approached the guarded borders of the village. Their approached was noticed by the two closest guards, and they quickly intercepted them, barring their path.

"No entry or exit without written authorization." one of them announced flatly.

"Do you have such authorization?" the other inquired.

Bluejay glanced at Mordecai expectantly, as he was to do the talking. Flustered, the servant fox hesitated before answering. "Written authorization?" he inquired. "What written authorization? This is the first that I've heard of it."

"We have new orders, no one is to leave or enter the Angolian village without having written authorization from Master Methusael himself." the first guard stated. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

"Well...when were these orders given?" Mordecai asked, getting an idea.

"Just earlier tonight." the second guard stated.

"Well, then, how do you expect me to know about it?" Mordecai accused. "I or my companion haven't been anywhere near the village _or _the castle all evening. You can't blame me for not being informed."

The two guards looked at each other, silently considering this.

"I suppose it is possible that the messengers neglected to get word to you." the first guard admitted.

"Very good, then." Mordecai said, with a nod. "May we pass, then? We're taking these two mice into custody for questioning."

"Well, I suppose there's nothing wrong with..." the first guard began, but the second suddenly cut him short, wearing a suspicious look that Mordecai and the others didn't like.

"Wait one moment, you say you haven't been anywhere near the village or the castle?" the second asked. "Just where _is _your assigned patrol?"

Mordecai paused for a moment. "Around the plateau." he answered, as that was semi-truthful, that was the direction from which they had just come. "Why?"

The two guards didn't answer, they merely surged forward and grabbed the two mice and pointed their weapons at the two foxes with their free paws.

"There is no designated patrol around the plateau." the second guard stated, menacingly. "You aren't who you say you are, are you?"

"I...I..." Mordecai began to stutter, unsure how to reply.

"Silence!" the first guard instructed. "Part of our orders were to be on the lookout for two foxes dressed in royal guard uniforms escorted mice in cloaks." he motioned to Moroni and Amulek, before looking back at the two foxes. "Now, which one of you two is actually female?"

Caught off guard by this, Mordecai and Bluejay exchanged glances, but didn't say anything. The first guard jabbed his stave at Bluejay.

"You there, you haven't said anything." he noted. A pause. "Say something now."

Bluejay, while growing nervous, held her tongue.

"Speak, or you're a dead beast!" the guard urged, jabbing at her again with his stave, this time more menacingly.

Bluejay hesitated for a moment longer, then finally opened her mouth to speak. "Oh, curse the seasons!" she exclaimed, and then quickly vaulted forward to attack their captors.

* * *

Not far from their location, the first group of mice still stood hidden in the fog, eyeing the borders of the village, trying to contemplate how to get past the guards that had been stationed there. Getting fed up, Ammon took a sling and some stones from one of the two Angolian guards and fitted a pebble to it.

"Here, I'll knock a few of them out with a few slingstones, then we can just slip past under the cover of this fog." he said, beginning to twirl the sling.

"But there's too many grouped too closely together!" Hyrum objected, stopping Ammon quickly. "You take one creature out, and we'll have the rest coming racing in our direction!"

"Not if we all work together and act quickly." Ammon argued.

"But there's too many of _them_, and not enough of _us_." Sister Daisy protested. "Besides, I would rather it not come to a scuffle, regardless of how simple an affair it is."

"I don't think we're going to have much of a choice." Neph remarked.

"What we could use is some kind of distraction to lure some of them away." Hyrum said, thinking.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth did a shout ring up from further up the village's edge, drawing the attention of several of the guards stationed directly ahead of the group of mice. As the shouting continued, several of the guards left their posts, and hurried off towards the commotion to investigate and help if needed, leaving only a mere handful left.

Neph blinked in surprise. "Well, that's certainly convenient." he remarked.

"But for all of the wrong reasons, I think that's Moroni's group we're hearing." Sister Daisy said urgently.

"Which means they're in trouble!" Hyrum realized.

"Right, we best get in the village, then double back and see if we can get there in time to help them!" Ammon said decisively, quickly slinging off a slingstone.

It nailed one of the remaining guards and downed him with a yelp. The next guard over heard, and first turned to look in the direction of his fallen companion, startled, before he started forward in the direction the slingstone had been thrown. He didn't get far before he was downed by a slingstone as well. Before anymore guards could come along, the group of mice quickly hurried into the village, hoping that they weren't already too late.

* * *

But they pretty much were. The moment Bluejay started attacking the first of their two captors, Mordecai, Moroni, and Amulek quickly joined in. At first, as there were only two guards to overpower, it looked like they might win the fight. But then word of the fight got out to the nearby guards, and they quickly started rallying to the area to help fight. Very soon, the four were outnumbered, but despite that, and the fact that they were generally unarmed and two of them were mice, they managed to keep fighting.

For the moment.

"Confound it!" Moroni shouted as he tackled one of the members of the royal guard, no easy task seeing he was merely a mouse. "We can't fight them, Amulek, get Mordecai and Bluejay and get them out of here! I'll try and hold them off!"

"Moroni, I'm not about to leave you here, and besides, you can't hold them off all on your own!" Amulek said, coming to his aide suddenly.

"I'm not planning on staying here, I'm going to be right behind you!" Moroni said. "Now go!"

Amulek nodded, and quickly fought his way towards Mordecai, who was closest. The attacking foxes were starting to drag him down, however, and Mordecai ended up coming to him, having heard Moroni's instructions, and quickly grabbed the mouse, and hurried out of the fight, and hurrying towards the empty village street that was nearby. They were nearly tackled by a set of oncoming members of the royal guard, but Bluejay suddenly jumped out of the fight and tackled the oncoming guards first. Moroni, who was starting to follow Amulek and Mordecai, slowed to help her, but in doing so, allowed himself to be caught by the other guards, and was overpowered. Bluejay quickly followed suit. By this point, Amulek and Mordecai had already vanished into the surrounding fog.

"Somebeast go after them!" one of the members of the royal guard exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the two escaping creatures.

A portion of the group broke away to chase after Amulek and Mordecai, leaving the rest to take care of Moroni and Bluejay to subdue them long enough to bind them, and they had more than enough creatures to do that. Bluejay and Moroni could do little to resist them. Once subdued they were hauled roughly to their feet, and per the royal guard's orders, were taken towards Midnight Castle.

Standing there, waiting for them, was Methusael.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here." he remarked with a grin. "I have finally, _finally_, caught a rebel mouse, and a cohort." he turned to Bluejay, who was glaring at him. "So to speak, of course."

"This one is female, but no one can identify her." one of the guards escorting her remarked.

"Ah, but the blue eyes should give her away." Methsuael remarked, and with one claw, rubbed at the fur on Bluejay's cheek, rubbing way some of the orange-red coloring to reveal the darker grey threads of hair underneath. Methusael's grin grew bigger. "Hello, Bluejay. Thought you could get away, did you?"

Bluejay merely glared at him, and did not respond.

"And Captain Moroni." Methsauel said, turning to the mouse, who was also giving him a glare. "I should've known that you had a paw in the rebellion. And now I have you...and proof enough to convict you." he then turned to the members of the royal guard. "But there's still one other escaped prisoner and who knows how many rebels out there still, and I want them found. Search every cottage, looking for them. Raid them, if you must, because I want them found. Any and all creatures that resist, arrest them on the spot, do _not _hesitate to use force. The Angolian village is also to be completely surrounded day and night now, no one getting in or out. I want every occupant in that village accounted for, while we're at it. And in the morning..." he chuckled cruelly, "...in the morning, I want the villagers gathered here at the castle for...a little display."

"Display?" Moroni growled questioningly. "What display?"

"Well, you see, _captain_, for now, I'm going to throw both you and Bluejay in the deepest, darkest, most inaccessible cell Midnight Castle's dungeons have to offer, with no food, no water, no nothing, not even the proper bedding." Methusael replied. "And in the morning, there will be an execution." his grin grew bigger still. "Yours."

Moroni's eyes grew wide, and so did Bluejay's.

"You can't do that!" Bluejay protested.

"Oh, but I can, and I will!" Methusael remarked. "An example will be made of both of you, publicly. Let's see how far that rebellion will go now after tomorrow morning." he waved to the guards. "Now take them away. I'll want to have a word with Captain Moroni sometime before morning, but in the meantime..." he took a deep breath and let it out again with a self-satisfied sigh, "I'm going to enjoy this little victory."


	42. Chapter 41

Extra-long Kani and Mathoni chapter, as promised. The two think about matters to themselves, then talk while they walk (hey, that rhymed :p) and THEN we get into some minor action, intrigue, and even a little bloodshed. Seeing that I left things at Angola with a cliffhanger, me thinks next chpt will feature more Angola. ;)

Chapter 41

True to his word, Tide had delivered Kani and Mathoni at the ford in the River Moss by evening, just as the sun started to sink below the horizon. Stepping off the squirrel's raft and onto shore, Mathoni invited politely if Tide would like to join them at Redwall. Tide seemed to consider the offer for a moment, but eventually turned them down, saying that he'd rather stay at the river, sailing it like always. He also off-handedly added that he wasn't sure he wanted to go wherever vermin was going (to Kani's silent annoyance). Before he sailed off again in the _Water Skimmer, _though, Tide did promise that he'd be willing and able to help them get up or down the river again should they ever need it, and that they could find him at his hut.

And with that, he waved, and started sailing back upstream, leaving Kani and Mathoni to continue on their trek.

As night was falling, Mathoni and Kani decided to set up camp there at the ford and await until dawn to travel again. Mathoni said they would easily arrive at Redwall Abbey sometime the next day, and the otter was quite excited to see his home again. So as he laid down for the night, he had a hard time trying to fall asleep, he was so excited. But as excited as he was, he was also apprehensive, wondering how the Redwallers to react to Kani's arrival. Kani, also, was wondering the same, only he was more apprehensive than excited, especially now that he had gotten a taste of what creatures in this country typically thought of foxes like him.

He didn't understand it. To him, it was completely unthinkable for foxes to be thought as nothing more than vermin, because in Angola, they were everything but. History as he knew it even supported as such. It was foxes that even created Angola, and made it the peaceful and happy land it was today...until Methusael came along and tore that all down. Foxes were creatures to be respected because of all of that. The thankful mice that benefitted greatly for the good the foxes had done hailed them as royalty, as lords and ladies that ruled over the land truthfully, justly, and fairly, wanting only to work for peace, happiness, and the greater good.

But here, in Mossflower, foxes were mere vermin, creatures to scorn and look down upon. To fight. To persecute. To kill. They were nothing more than the scum of the land, mere thieves and murderers that were to be shunned from gaining the benefits from the good beasts. And maybe here, that was true, and that foxes deserved nothing more than to be treated like that.

But...it wasn't fair to look upon every fox, such as Kani, and immediately deduce from his species that he was mere vermin. Because he wasn't. He was on the good side, or so he liked to think. But if Tide was any evidence about how creatures here treated foxes, Kani feared he would never get the chance to prove it.

And that wasn't fair. For him, or for all of the good creatures of Angola, whose responsibility of their continued well-being was currently resting upon _his _shoulders. And that was trial enough for him. He didn't need all of this persecution added on top of it, nor not having the chance to prove he didn't deserve that treatment. For if he couldn't get that chance, he might as well be the fox the creatures of Mossflower would apparently believe him to be.

* * *

In the morning, after they had gotten some breakfast, Mathoni and Kani were marching onwards towards the abbey.

"Looks like it's goin' t' be a beutiful day t'day." Mathoni remarked happily. "The Dibbuns are all probably out playin' in the abbeygrounds by now, havin' a grand ol' time."

"Dibbuns?" Kani inquired with a slight, amused, grin.

"Redwall's term for liddle creatures, usually 'round babe age." Mathoni explained without losing a beat. "Dunno where th' term came from, it's just wot we use t' refer t' 'em. Don't they 'ave anythin' like that in Angola?"

"Not per say." Kani admitted with a shrug. "Usually we refer to our young by the proper terms. Babes, youth, young, cubs, and so forth."

"Hm, interestin'."

"Not very."

"No, I suppose not."

They were silent for a few moments as they continued walking down the well-worn path that Mathoni assured them would led them straight to Redwall.

"Isn't it kind of embarrassing to be called a Dibbun?" Kani finally asked, unable to bite back the comment any longer.

Mathoni chuckled at that. "Not if ye're of th' right age." he remarked, unconcerned. "For me, I never really got t' be called that much, though." his smile faded slightly. "I didn't get t' Redwall Abbey until I was 'bout halfway through me Dibbun seasons, an' for 'bout a season after that, I didn't socialize much, or so I'm told." he sighed.

Kani frowned as well, but for a different matter. "So wait, you weren't born at Redwall?" he asked.

"No, I was born in Mossflower Woods, in a liddle ol' cottage near a small stream that branches off River Moss an' wanders southward." Mathoni remarked solemnly, but straight faced. "Lived there with me parents, though I don't think much 'bout it anymore."

"Why? What happened?" Kani asked, curious.

"Well, first, me mother died, after bein' ill for nearly half a season after she gave birth t' me. So me father tried t' raise me after that on 'is own, but, I don't think he was very good at it. Didn't see 'im much. He had a raft, see, an' he made a livin' sailing creatures up an' down th' stream. Usually gone for most of th' day. For th' first few seasons of me life, he'd take me with, seein' that I was too young t' leave on me own at 'ome. T'wasn't a very good place for a babe t' be, but me father was tryin' his best t' raise me an' keep food on th' table too, or so I'm told. I don't really know, bein' too young an' all of that, but Skipper Rowe claimed t' know. He'd met me father once or twice all those seasons ago.

"Anyway, eventually I got t' be old enough that me father figured I could stay 'ome now, just so long he stopped by t' check on me every now an' then. Actually, I wasn't that old yet, only a few seasons, but Father didn't like havin' t' sail with me onboard, as that stream wasn't always th' best for sailin'. So, he left me at 'ome for the better part of a day, stoppin' whenever he 'ad th' chance for mealtimes. I was alone all th' rest of th' time. 'Course, it wasn't always smooth sailin' like that. First season or so of this, Father repeatedly came 'ome t' find me causin' trouble, an' he'd reprimanded me for it. Eventually, I learned wot I was supposed t' do when home alone, an' got used t' bein' alone." Mathoni paused. "I didn't think much of it, back then, but now I kinda wish I saw more of me father, especially after wot 'appened in th' end.

"This went on for a few seasons, an' it worked out alright. Could've been better, but we were both survivin', an' worse things could've 'appened. But then, one day, me father just never came home. Apparently, while sailing through some rapids, me father's raft hit a rock, an' flipped over. All paws onboard were lost, drowned in th' stream. Because of it, I went a day, nearly two, completely on me own. 'Twas quite frightenin', I remember. Thankfully, though, some members of th' Guosim saw th' raft go down, an' after learnin' there wouldn't be anybeast t' save from th' wreak, went t' get me, knowin' me father had a son. Brought me t' Redwall, an' I've lived there ever since."

Kani was silent for a moment. "That must have been hard for you." he remarked finally.

"Not really, t' be honest." Mathoni admitted. "I...know that sounds kind of 'eartless, but ye 'ave t' keep in mind just 'ow young I was way back then. I don't think I really understood wot 'ad 'appened, that me father wasn't ever goin' t' come back, until I was much older...an' by then I 'ad already adjusted t' him bein' absent." he sighed again. "If it helps, though, my first season at Redwall was rough. See, havin' spent all that time alone, I wasn't used t' suddenly be in a crowd. That took some adjustin', an' for awhile I just preferred t' be by meself. Finally, though, I realized that was no fun, an' started makin' friends, an' th' rest is history."

"What about the cottage you and your parents had lived in?"

"It's still out there, though no one's been in it for many seasons. Liddle worn down now, but still standin'. Father Abbot suggested t' me once that maybe, once I've grown up, like I am now, I could go back t' that cottage, fix it up, an' live in it again. But...I don't think I ever will." Mathoni managed a grin. "Redwall's me 'ome now. Don't intend t' leave it."

"Then why did you suddenly turn up in Angola?" Kani asked, a little teasingly.

"I told ye, t' return that medallion t' it's proper owner, which I did." Mathoni replied without losing stride, as usual. "'Sides, Redwall may be 'ome, but even 'ome can become borin' after awhile, an' I longed t' get out in th' world, an' 'ave an adventure for a change. Furthermore, I knew that wot I wanted t' do with me life, an' knew I couldn't do it, sittin' on me tail at Redwall." he chuckled. "I daresay I at least got th' adventure I was lookin' for."

"I daresay that you did." Kani agreed, not sharing his friend's enthusiasm. "Put your life on the line doing it, but I suppose you could call it an adventure."

"Aw, c'mon mate, 'aven't ye ever wanted t' go an' 'ave a grand ol' adventure, 'un that'd go down in th' history books?"

Now Kani had to chuckle. "I suppose I did, when I was young and didn't know better." he admitted, thinking back. "Hax and I once tried to do that when we were both younger, and tried to leave Angola...but Mother caught us before we managed to do that. We were much to young to wander so far on our own anyway." Kani's grin faded slightly, his eyes watering slightly. "That was all Hax's idea. He had a lot of wild ideas like that back in the day."

"Hax?" Mathoni questioned, the name sounding familiar.

"My younger brother."

Mathoni was silent for a moment. "Th' one Methusael murdered?" he asked softly, after a moment.

Kani nodded. "I intend to avenge his death someday." he vowed quietly. "My mother's as well. As well as all of the injustice Methusael has done to both me, and the creatures of Angola."

And with that, the fox redoubled his pace, marching faster down the path, his otter friend working to keep up.

* * *

It was nearing noon when, upon climbing up a slight rise in the path, that Mathoni finally spied something that made him whoop happily.

"There it is!" he cried, jumping for joy. "There's th' abbey!"

"Where?" Kani asked brightly, quickly joining him at the rise, and looking around.

"There!" Mathoni replied, grabbing Kani's head with his paws and pointing it a little to the east, looking just above the trees.

Sure enough, after a brief moment of looking, Kani spotted the top of what was clearly a belltower poking up over the treetops not that far ahead. Kani couldn't help but grin at the sight, glad that the journey was nearly over for now.

So was Mathoni. "C'mon, mate, I'll race ye there!" he challenged, skipping ahead as the otter was suddenly filled with energy.

He hadn't taken much more than a couple of paces, however, when an arrow suddenly whizzed just inches from his snout and embedded itself in a nearby tree. With a startled yelp, Mathoni threw himself backwards from the arrow, stumbled, and fell over.

"Mathoni!" Kani exclaimed in worry, fearing the otter was hurt and rushed over to help his friend.

He had barely done so before their attacker suddenly burst out from the surrounding woodlands, fumbling as she loaded another arrow on her bow. She was breathless, exhausted, angry at her predicament, and rather battered looking, as she had been traveling day and night, non-stop, to get here.

But Aurora had finally caught up with her prey.

* * *

In his study, Abbot Isaiah tried to focus on the work he was supposed to be doing, but was having difficulty focusing. Finally, with a sigh, he gave up, leaning creakily back in his chair, rubbing at his silver-furred brow in despair.

"You worry about Charles."

Isaiah sighed, recognizing that it was Martin without looking. As usual, the spirit of the warrior mouse had correctly guessed his thoughts.

"Of course I'm worried about Charles." he said a little annoyed. "You know why. But it's not just him. I'm worried for every single creature that resides in this abbey at the moment."

"As you should be." Martin agreed, his arms folded. "So I feel it is only fair that I should warn you that you will soon have two more creatures to worry about."

Isaiah blinked, and looked at Martin. "What?"

Martin copied the look. "Mathoni will soon return home."

* * *

The moment the mercenary rat burst out from the cover of the woods, Kani grabbed Mathoni, roughly hauled him up to his footpaws, and began running on down the path, dragging Mathoni with him. After a moment, Mathoni got his act together, and did likewise. Another moment after that, another arrow whizzed dangerously close to them. Aurora's aim was off due to the fact she hadn't gotten any sleep in more than a day, but she was still deadly, nonetheless, and she fully planned to kill both the otter and the fox, through any means possible.

Which was why Kani was heading further down the path, following it on to Redwall. He hoped that if he could reach the abbey before they were shot and killed with an arrow, the inhabitants there could quickly come to their rescue. And after a few moments of running, with Aurora being unable to keep up and starting to fall back far enough that the bends of the path and the surrounding foliage blocked her from immediate view, things looked hopeful.

But it wasn't meant to be, for Kani suddenly caught sight of some creatures moving towards them, further up and around a bend in the path. Not knowing who they could be, Kani quickly grabbed Mathoni's paw, and changed their course, leading them both off the path and into the cover of the forest. Ducking behind a rather large tree, the two then looked back out onto the path to watch.

The two creatures quickly rounded the corner in the path at a jog, looking around sharply, perhaps knowing that there should be some creatures here. One was a mouse; the other, a squirrel. They appeared to be soldiers, wearing copper-colored armor studded with sapphires, and were both armed to the teeth. Kani didn't know what to make of them.

"Who are they?" he whispered to Mathoni. "Are they Redwallers?"

"No." Mathoni replied, who looked confused. "I dunno who they are. I've never seen them before in me life."

It wasn't long after this that Aurora finally arrived, hurrying down the path, running at full speed, her bow and arrow ready to fire again for a third time. She and the two unknown creatures nearly ran into each other, catching each other by surprise. The mouse and their squirrel quickly drew their weapons to strike at Aurora as she charged unexpectedly at them, but Aurora acted quickly and dropped down on her side, using her momentum to allow herself to skid on the loose dirt under the outstretched arms of the two creatures. Once on the other side, she quickly jumped up, raising her bow and arrow to fight, when another two creatures similar to the first two suddenly came around the bend and grabbed Aurora from behind.

Quickly, the foursome restrained and disarmed the protesting rat, and carried her off, going back around the bend they had come from, and quickly vanished, leaving the path empty and quiet again. Cautiously, Kani and Mathoni both stepped back out onto it.

"Who _were _those creatures?" Mathoni asked aloud, feeling lost.

"I'm still hoping you could tell me, Mathoni." Kani admitted, also puzzled by this sudden turn of events. "They _were _woodlanders, though, weren't they? Maybe they're friends."

Mathoni, however, shook his head. "No, they weren't all woodlanders." he said. "Didn't ye see? One of 'em was a rat."

"A rat?" Kani repeated surprised.

"Aye! But he was dressed exactly like the others, an' he didn't behave like a usual rat at all." Mathoni frowned. "I dunno, matey, somethin' ain't right about this."

Kani turned to look towards the abbey in the distance, looking a little closer now. "I wonder..." he murmured.

He then sought out a good climbing tree, and walked over to it, and started heaving himself up into it, with some difficulty. Mathoni wordlessly caught on, and wandered over to help, pushing Kani by the tail up into the tree. Once he was up, Kani then helped Mathoni up into the tree, who clambered into it not any more gracefully than Kani had done. Once inside the tree, they worked their way up to the top, and once they were both there, both poked their heads through the leafy tree tops and overlooked the land.

The tree was about average height for the trees in the woods, and was level with all the trees around it, making their tops seem like a vast sea of green. One could still see quite far, however, and upon following the path ahead, Kani found Redwall Abbey. He could see more of the red sandstone structure from up here, seeing more of it's belltower, it's roofs, and part of it's walls, and was quite impressed with the attractive structure. Looking to the plains that sat just to the west of the abbey, however, Kani could clearly see a large, military encampment filled with more of the mysterious creatures.

Mathoni whistled when he saw this too. "Certainly a whole lot of that lot, eh, matey?" he commented.

"They look like they've laid siege to the abbey." Kani remarked in dismay. "They must be foes, then."

"But why?" Mathoni asked. "And if they're foes, why did they capture that rat assassin for us?"

"I don't know." Kani remarked, started to clamber back out of the tree. "But we'll end up just like her if we try and get much closer to the abbey now." he moaned as he dropped down to the ground. "This is just brilliant. I come all this way in search of help, and I find that the help is already preoccupied with their own affairs."

"Must 'ave 'appened sometime after I left." Mathoni remarked, sliding down the tree's trunk to the ground. "Never fear, though, we just need another way in."

"Those creatures probably have the whole abbey surrounded, though." Kani pointed out. "There's not going to _be_ another way in."

"A lot ye know." Mathoni remarked with a grin, turning to head deeper into woods. "I, actually, happen t' know of another way into th' abbey. I saw th' tree that marks th' entrance while we were up there."

"Tree?" Kani asked, as he hesitantly followed.

"Aye, big ol' five-topped oak, ye can't miss it. Once there, then I'll show ye another way into Redwall..."

* * *

"All quiet up 'ere, Skip?" Tobias asked as he delivered Skipper Rowe his lunch up on the walltops.

"Aye, for the moment." Rowe acknowledged, taking the lunch while keeping his eyes on the army outside the walls. "Doubt they'd try much at this 'our, though. Ain't really their style, apparently."

"Wouldn't put it past 'em, though." Tobias remarked, leaning against the ramparts and peering out at the enemy army. "Y'know, while we may 'ave won th' past few skirmishes with these beasts in th' sense that we're still 'ere, ready an' able t' fight, we really 'aven't done much 'arm t' 'em, 'ave we?"

"No, and that worries me." Rowe admitted. "We've been lucky thus far, but it can't last forever. Either we need to figure out a way to strike hard and fast at that lot, or eventually, they'll get lucky an' finally overpower us."

"Then we're dead." Tobias observed grimly.

Rowe merely nodded in response. "Still," he continued, "The commander otter lady that Charles was able t' wound last night has apparently done some good, because now she can't seem t' command like before. At least, her troops seem more restless now."

"I noticed that too." Tobias said. "Couldn't figure out why, though. She'll live, an' she can still command like before, particularly after a few days once 'em wounds of hers heal a liddle."

"I have t' wonder if we somehow managed t' do somethin' that their 'religion' says we shouldn't 'ave been able t'." Rowe said, really thinking aloud.

"Maybe." Tobias said. "But how could we ever confirm somethin' like that?"

I 'aven't th' foggiest." Rowe admitted with a sigh. He stared out at the army, scanning it. Then blinked when something caught his interest. "Now...wot do ye suppose is goin' on over there?"

Tobias turned to look, and frowned at the sight. A small cluster of soldiers from the army itself was moving towards the tent where the otter commander was camped. In the center of the cluster was a struggling creature, which they had apparently captured and were now bringing before their leader.

"Well...they've caught somebody..." Tobias said, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the creature.

"Looks like vermin..." Rowe remarked. "Whoever it is must 'ave gotten t' close."

"Aye...wonder wot they'll do t' her..." Tobias commented aloud.

* * *

The answer was nothing good.

Quite roughly, Aurora was brought into the tent and shoved down into a kneeling position, her paws bound behind her back. Most of the creatures that had brought here in then departed, but two stayed behind to guard the tent's entrance and exit. There were two other creatures in the tent already. An expressionless weasel dressed in a blue habit and had a tatoo on both his forehead and cheek, and an female otter, a member of the army, and appearing to be the commander. She was wounded, for one arm was currently in a sling, and she looked unhappy about her predicament.

It was the weasel who spoke first. "Who is this?" he inquired, standing up and picking up a sapphire-topped stave to hold.

"We caught her further down the path, not far from camp, all riled up and ready to fight." one of the guards reported.

"I've had a bad couple of days." Aurora spoke for her own defense. "If you were in my situation, you'd think the same."

"Really." the weasel remarked, circling her calmly. "And just what is your situation?"

"I can't tell you, it's a secret, and it's none of your business anyway."

"It is now."

"I'm still not telling."

"Unfortunate." the weasel paused to stand behind her for a moment. "You are vermin."

"So I'm told. Wasn't hard to figure that out, either."

"You are also well trained in the art of combat. I presume you are a paid assassin or some other type of mercenary."

Aurora did not reply to this, and inwardly hid her mild surprise at the weasel's accurate deductions. She was only mildly surprised, because she had seen Grim do the same thing with their own prisoners before in the past. She knew it could be done. She just didn't expect the weasel to know this.

"I suppose you have committed a fair number of sins in your lifetime as a result, then." the weasel continued.

"That depends on how you look at it." Aurora replied flatly.

"On how Gemini looks at it, you mean."

Aurora twisted her head around to give the weasel a weird look. "What in the name of Ferahgo is Gemini?" she demanded.

"Not what, but who." the weasel replied with a smooth grin, and resumed his circling. "Gemini is creator of everything in this world. You, I, the land, the plants, the animals, everything. He has power over all, and leads and is savior to the righteous."

"Oh brilliant." Aurora grumbled at this. "Of all the creatures I could've been captured by, I had to be caught by the crazy lot."

The weasel frowned. "Gemini is also a forgiving being." he continued, gazing down at Aurora. "But only if the creature in question is willing to repent. If not....then the wicked must die."

Aurora glared back up at him. "You're referring to me, aren't you?" she asked.

"Perhaps you can tell me."

"Well, I'm not falling for it. Whatever weird and absurd religion...stuff...you're trying to get me to switch to, I won't fall for it."

"I would listen, if I were you." the otter commander suddenly spoke, sounding slightly hesitant.

"I _am _listening!" Aurora barked. "Now you listen to me! I won't have any part of it!"

The weasel suddenly slapped the rat with the end of his stave, making everyone else present jump in surprise at the suddenness of the move. "It would be your undoing, rat." he growled. "We are here to destroy the wicked, and if it must include you, then so be it. But we're giving you a chance to accept the path of righteousness."

"Blah, blah, _blah_." Aurora said, rolling her eyes, only slightly dazed by the blow. "All a bunch of hooey, if you ask me."

"Are you saying that Gemini is false?" the weasel said threateningly.

"Yes, yes I am." Aurora replied insolently.

The weasel growled, and looked ready to strike her again, but didn't. "Tell me why you are here." he asked again.

Aurora glared at him for a long moment. "I'm here, to slay a fox and his cohort." she replied finally, figuring she had little to loose now. "I've been chasing after them all across the countryside until I was captured by you lot."

"Did you succeed in slaying these creatures?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"A pity."

"For me, yes. Doesn't affect the likes of you, though."

"We shall see."

"Look, I'm only here for those two creatures. If you let me go, I'll go back to hunting them, and leave all of _you _alone. Won't even mention your existence to another soul."

"You will only leave this tent when you have agreed to repent of your sins." the weasel remarked, looking at her coldly. "So will you?"

Aurora glared back at him. "I would rather go to Hellgates." she remarked.

The weasel slowly turned his back to her. "That can be arranged." he remarked, and nodded to one of the guards.

And with one swipe from the guard's sword, Aurora was slain.

* * *

Omni was a quiet old hedgehog. Being in charge of Redwall's cellars and brewing it's various drinks, he had always felt there wasn't much to talk about regarding such matters. As such, he usually stayed in his cellars all day working, tasting drinks, or keeping himself entertained with various hobbies. And so long as he kept to himself, no one seemed to be bothered by this.

Now that the abbey was under siege, Omni was keeping to his cellars even more now. He didn't consider himself a fighter, and figured he'd just get in the way. So he stayed out of the way. Besides, if the abbey fell to the enemy, he'd know about it soon enough.

Anyway, on this particular afternoon, he was in his cellars, having finished working with the drinks for the day, and was now whittling on a piece of old wood he had found lying around with a small knife. It was very quiet in the cellars at the moment. So he was quite surprised when the silence was suddenly broken with a distant thump.

Jumping, and dropping his knife, Omni looked up and around the cellars, wondering where the sound had originated. Just when he had just about decided not to worry about it, not having heard it again, it suddenly rang out again. Frowning, Omni rose, and started waddling around, trying to pinpoint the noise. The thumping sound continued during all of this. Finally, the cellarhog had pinpointed the sound to behind a stack of empty barrels that perpetually sat against one wall of the cellars.

Omni stood at the foot of the stack, and stared at it, listening to the thumping continue behind it. His father, Jacob, had told him way back when he was a youth to never move this stack of barrels, regardless of what they contained. He never gave a reason why, but Omni guessed there was something hidden behind the stack that Jacob had wanted to stay hidden. So Omni obeyed.

But as the thumping continued, Omni realized that he was only ever going to find out what was causing it if he got to the source by moving the barrels. So he did, and as the barrels were all empty, it wasn't too hard of a task. Once the pile was cleared, a door was revealed to be behind it. The thumping sound was created by something, or rather, someone, bumping against it.

Omni frowned, then leaned forward and tentatively knocked on the door. There was a pause, then someone knocked back.

"Who's there?" Omni called loudly.

"Omni?" came back the muffled reply. "Is that you, mate?"

"Uh, aye!" Omni replied hesitantly. "How-how do yeh know me name?"

"T'wasn't hard t' guess. Now, are ye goin' t' open th' door?"

"Uh, uh, not until I know who yeh are, uh, sir."

"Ye mean ye 'aven't guessed? Here, I'll give ye a clue. I'm th' otter that left sometime ago t' go t' a place called Angola..."

Omni then threw the door open without hesitation at this. "Mathoni!" he cried, quite surprised to see the young otter standing behind the door in the dark tunnel beyond.

"Omni, good t' see ye again, mate!" Mathoni greeted back brightly.

But now Omni was looking past Mathoni, and back at the tall and silent fox that stood behind the otter with even more surprise...and apprehension.


	43. Chapter 42

Okay, originally, I had hoped to write a whole lot more for this chapter, but only got halfway before I realized this was taking longer than I had hoped, and I've got homework I really need to be doing instead, and not put off for another day. So I copped out and stopped halfway, just when the chapter was getting really interesting. Next week I'll write and post the other half, which contains lost of action in contrast to this talking stuff, and will hopefully make up for this.

Anyway, Angola-centric chapter, and is building evermore to greater conflict. Semi-Cliffhanger ending. After I post the next half to this chapter, the next several chapters will focus solely on Redwall, as we start to reach the climax of the story... ;)

Chapter 42

Methusael hadn't slept much that night. He was too excited.

Finally, after more than a season of dealing with the mouse rebellion, gaining little leeway on either side, Methusael had finally made a successful move towards victory with the capture of a rebel, and not just any rebel, but Captain Moroni. This in of itself was a duel victory for Methusael, because it was a well known fact that Moroni was well liked and trusted by his fellow mice. Revealing him and charging as a rebel against Angola would shatter that trust, and ultimately make the mice overall that much more submissive.

And that would be before the planned execution of both Moroni and Bluejay, which would double the blow.

Methusael completely expected the rebellion to end immediately after that execution, as it would truly show who was in power here. Himself. And who better to be large and in charge? He had already achieved more than Kani had ever done, a fair part of that done in his coup to become lord of the land. All of that should prove beyond a doubt that he was the better leader. He wouldn't back down to a threat. He'd face it full on, and defeat it. And he had great plans for the land. No more would it be a small and sovereign country composed of a small village and a castle, Methusael hoped to expand the land well beyond it's borders, and at the very lest double it's size. If he faced resistance, then he'd use force.

Angola would be a much better land now that he was ruling it.

And anyone who disagreed would be dealt with. He could come up with a whole list of tragic "accidents" that could happen to a creature. Sooner or later, they would all realize it wasn't worth it and give up. And then Methusael would _really _be victorious.

He chuckled to himself as he thought about all of this, leaning back in the chair at his desk in the study, the chair turned so that it face the window that ran behind the desk, allowing him to look out at the land he controlled. Currently, there wasn't much to see, as it wasn't even dawn yet, the sun not having even poked out from behind the horizon in the distance. All one could see at the moment was a dull red glow beginning to show towards the west.

Angola itself was for the moment enshrouded with darkness save for the individual lanterns the patrolling royal guard were using. Most of the mice had hidden themselves in their dark cottages, fearing the overseeing foxes, for word that Methusael had caught a rebel was spreading quickly, although not as fast as word that Methusael had ordered the village searched from top to bottom for more rebels, and that no one could enter or leave the village without authorization, authorization that no mouse was going to get.

This only cheered Methusael up even more. Already, they were fearing him. To him, that was good, as that meant they'd give him unrelinquished control of the land now. And that was good. That was what he wanted, and that was what he was going to get. Again, Methusael chuckled to himself, happy that things were finally beginning to go his way completely.

"You should really be asleep, you know."

Methusael stopped his chuckle midway, and frowned, twisting around to glare at the unwelcomed and sudden guest in his study.

"And you aren't?" he asked Adah, annoyed, turning the chair back around to look at her better.

The vixen was also frowning. "I heard you giving orders, depriving other creatures in this castle of their sleep as well." she commented bitterly.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to get a head start on today's matters." Methusael remarked calmly. "To get started, I gave Juniper orders to bring up a guest so...so we can talk."

"Heaven forbid who that might be." Adah remarked, as she already had it narrowed down to two, with one being more favored than the other. "But I would've thought that given last night's events, you would've scaled back a bit this morning, so to not overdo yourself."

"Logical, but I have a busy morning planned as well." Methusael pointed out with a mild grin. "I have an execution to plan, you know."

"Yes, I do." Adah replied, her expression changing slightly to show a slightly more pained one. "You really intend to kill them?"

"Why not? They have it coming to them."

"Maybe in your eyes, you do."

"In my eyes, I see this as the means of restoring peace to the land."

"In your eyes, yes, but from my eyes, Methusael, you're spilling innocent blood for no reason other than personal profit."

"Well, I'm not looking at it from _your _eyes, obviously. And I don't really care what you think about the matter, although I suppose I was going to get an earful about it regardless." Methusael sighed. "Adah, quit trying to delay their deaths unnecessarily. It's only prolonging the inevitable. They must die."

"Why?"

"It's simple enough. Those rebellious mice out there need to see who's in charge here; that their mutinous actions are not going to be tolerated. A public execution will drive that point home quite nicely. Can't you see that?"

"What I see is a power hungry fox who's willing to kill, and _has _killed, to get what he wants, and is quite possibly blind. You're underestimating your foes, Methusael, and not for the first time. Can't you see _that_? They _know _what you've done! The effects you are clearly hoping for aren't going to happen. You're hoping in vain, for something won't occur!"

"Well, we'll just have to see after this morning, hmm?" Methusael grinned cruelly at this comment, and silently indicated that the topic was closed to further discussion. A knock then rang out at the study door. "Ah, and just in time." Methusael remarked, turning his attention to the door, and motioning to Adah to stand to one side. "Might as well stick around and watch, Adah. You might learn a few things yourself from this." raising his voice, he called, "Come in!"

The door swung open, and Juniper and another member of the royal guard entered, escorting Moroni between them, forepaws bound behind his back. The mouse wore the same cloak and garments he had been wearing when he was captured the night previous, but now they were dirtied slightly from being thrown into what Adah understood to be the most undesirable prison cell in the whole castle. Moroni also looked like that he, too, had also had a sleepless night, but despite all of that, the mouse was quite alive with restrained enraged energy that was currently being used to stare daggers at Methusael.

Methusael was unfazed by the glare as he waved Juniper out of the room so that the fox wouldn't hear anything he shouldn't, while the other guard remained, as Methusael had entrusted him with his secrets. Methusael then focused his attention on his prisoner, grinning almost brightly.

"Well, good morning, Captain Moroni." he commented in the same brightly manner. "Have a good night?"

"Not really, no." Moroni replied truthfully through gritted teeth. "I see that you have had a good night, Methusael." he side-glanced over Adah. "And Mistress Adah, I didn't expect to be graced with your presence for this meeting."

"Nor did I expect to do any presence-gracing." Adah remarked a little sullenly from where she stood to one side of the room. "As if I have any grace left."

"Shouldn't have sided with the traitor." Moroni remarked boldly without losing stride, glancing back at Methusael.

"Well, look who's calling who." Methsuael stated, rising from his chair and smoothing out the wrinkles in his tunic. "As I recall, captain, you're the one charged with treason."

"By your order only." Moroni spat. "Orders you shouldn't be giving. And maybe you _would _call what I've done treason, but it was for a good cause. To overthrow _you_."

"Ah, but this little rebellion that I suspect you've been leading from the beginning started long before I entered the picture, back when Kani still ruled." Methusael remarked cheerfully. "Explain why you were rebelling _then_."

"Oh, it's a very long and complicated story that I'd rather not get into right now, and I don't really know all of the particulars myself, to be honest."

Methusael snorted at this, and turned his back on his prisoner, leaning on the desk.

"And besides, you're wrong." Moroni went on. "The rebellion _did _start after you had entered the picture, at least when the evidence started to reveal itself, at least. It started after you murdered Lord Hax."

Methusael slapped a fist on the desk and turned to face his prisoner again, the cheery complexion gone now. "You can't prove that I did that." he challenged.

"Oh, I so could, and you know it, too." Moroni snapped back.

"But you don't have the _evidence_." Methusael stated. "Whereas, _I _have evidence to convict you of treason, of disturbing the peace, of plotting against the throne, of arranging and aiding in the escape of convicted criminals, and of attacking and murdering members of the royal guard and your own kind. I could even blame Hax's death on you, if I wanted to."

"But you won't." Moroni commented. "There's too much doubt surrounding Hax's death for that to be believed, especially by your fellow foxes in this castle."

"He's right." Adah agreed.

"And most of that evidence is fabricated anyway, particularly the part about the murder of members of the royal guard. We both know that happened at your orders, the deed carried out by your mercenaries hidden somewhere in the woods."

Methusael shook his head, suddenly grinning again. "You certainly have figured out a great deal, captain." he admitted. "You're a little fuzzy on a few details here and there, but I'm impressed on just how much you've figured out."

"To us mice, there was no doubt who was responsible when you staged your little coup d'état, probably because we mice have been suffering the brunt of your actions, whereas the foxes, lucky for you, have been more sheltered." Moroni narrowed his eyes at the traitorous fox. "That's the only reason you've gotten this far with this, you know."

"Oh, I know. Rather convenient, actually."

"Yes, you still have most of the foxes in Angola loyal to you. But the mice of the land aren't being so easily swayed. For instance, the rebellion's numbers increased sharply after you took over the land.

"And here we reach the point where I mention that you know of valuable information that I want." Methusael stooped down to be more at Moroni's eye level. "Tell me just how many members there are in your rebellion. Scores? Hundreds? Thousands? The whole village?"

Moroni remained silent.

"Who are some of the rebels? I want names. Where do they live? How well supplied are you? What plans do you have against me? Where are you hiding Mordecai?"

Moroni persistently stayed silent. Annoyed, Methusael growled, and turned away from his prisoner again.

"I need to know all of that, Moroni." he urged. "And you will tell me that, and hopefully more."

"More, you say?" Moroni asked, staring stubbornly ahead. "Assuming I told you all that you have asked me to tell you, what more could you possibly want to know?"

Methusael half-grinned. "The location of Kani."

Adah glanced up at this, eyes widening suddenly, and Moroni's glare narrowed further still.

"What makes you think I even know anything about that?" Moroni asked.

"It's no secret that you rebels sheltered him when I staged my coup, captain." Methusael stated. "Then you helped him leave. Now, I sent a mercenary after him to finish him off..." Moroni glanced up sharply at this, but Methusael ignored it, "...but she has failed to report back as of yet. I'm starting to wonder if something came up. So it would help if I knew where he was."

"For than one creature." Adah spoke up, who was interested herself.

"Well, I don't intend to tell either of you." Moroni said.

"Pity." Methusael said, stepping around Moroni and to the door. He seemed done with the situation, but as if having a second thought, he stopped and glanced back at Moroni. "I understand that you have a wife, captain. Perhaps I shall have to arrange to meet with her instead."

Moroni's eyes widened. "Ruth?" he whispered, then twisted around to yell at Methusael "You leave her out of this!"

"But he won't!" Adah interjected, taking a tentative step towards the mouse. "And I know, because he won't leave Kani alone, either."

Moroni glanced at the vixen as Methusael, ignoring them both now, opened the door to the study and began conversing quietly with Juniper that was waiting outside the door, giving instructions. "Why are you sided with him, Mistress Adah?" he asked quietly.

"As you said yourself, it's a very long story, captain." Adah replied. She hung her head and added in a whisper so Methusael wouldn't overhear "I fear it might be too late to back out anyway."

"The only time it's too late to switch sides is when you're dead." Moroni replied.

He might have said more, but then Juniper, having finished receiving instructions, marched in and he and the other guard marched Moroni back out of the room to be returned to his cell until it was time for the execution. Methusael watched them leave with a grin, and then turned back to Adah.

"Have a soft spot for him, do you?" he asked.

"I can relate with his situation, as you _should _know." Adah stated bitterly, marching for the door, suddenly angry. "I didn't ask to get mixed up with this. If the circumstances were different, I would _kill _you where you stand."

Methusael seemed taken aback, but otherwise unconcerned. "But you won't." he pointed out as she marched out the door.

"Not directly." Adah called back as she continued onward. "But rest assured, I'll find way. Besides, you admitted that you planned to kill Kani from the beginning, and I _told _you what I'd do if it came to that."

She then strode off, down the hallway, and out of sight. Methusael glared after her, then exited the study himself, heading in a different direction, and did not stop until he arrived at the location he wanted, a small dormitory usually used for guests that had been blocked off from all creatures that did not have Methusael's authorization to enter. Without even knocking, the fox threw open the door and stormed inside.

"I have another task for you two." he remarked without preamble.

"Oh, no you don't!" Sais objected immediately, the ferret rising from where he had been sitting. "We've gone well above and beyond the call of duty for you without much complaint, and no rewards for long enough, now!"

"I must concur with Sais." Grim added, who was busy waxing the bowstring to his bow. "For once. We have done what you asked, regardless of the consequences, with good service. However, if you expect us to do any more work for you, we will be adequately paid for our services."

Methusael fumed for a moment. "I don't have time for this at the moment." he grumbled. "All right, I will, but first..."

"No, no, no, payment first, or no deal!" Sais objected. "We've done a lot for you for nothing. We even came straight _here _to report where those blooming mice exited your stupid castle with those escaped prisoners! _For nothing_! We expect to be paid, now!"

"In full." Grim added coldly. "With a little bit added in due to the apparent disappearance of Aurora."

"Which you never really _did _give a full explanation for." Sais added.

Methusael growled, then grabbed a pouch from his waist and chucked it at the two vermin mercenaries. "There!" he exclaimed, as Grim caught it. "Consider that your first payment. I'll give you the rest after you do one last assignment for me, and then after that, we'll talk about prolonging your contract. I'll still need your services for awhile longer."

Grim opened the pouch and poured some of the gold pieces into his paw and felt them for a moment. "Fair enough." he replied, returning them to the pouch. "What is this assignment?"

"It's Adah." Methusael stated. "She's up to something. I want her followed and watched like a hawk. The moment she does something wrong...kill her."


	44. Chapter 43

And here's the other half that I promised from last chapter. Actually, seeing how long it turned out, I'm kinda glad I split it in two. Anyway, action as promised in Angola, as things come to a head. Though, this first part is actually a little...long winded. Got a little carried away with that part methinks, but I didn't want to just blur over it either. Ending half of the chapter probably a little rough grammarically speaking, as it was more rushed (I write faster when I get to the action parts, because they're so fast paced, and don't always catch my more minor errors). It's also late where I am, so a little tired to boot. Ah well, I think ye'll still like th' chapter, as ye all usually do. :) Next several chapters will all be Redwall-oriented, just so you're aware. ;)

Chapter 43

Tensions were heightened within the Angolian village, particularly as dawn grew closer. Word that no creature could enter or leave the village and much of the reasons why had spread like wildfire, and suddenly the populace was feeling one of two emotions.

Fear for their safety...

...or outrage at the sudden blocking of their freedom.

Ruth, however, was one of the many who was fearing for not only her safety, but her husband's as well. She had known that Moroni had gone out with the plan of liberating Bluejay and Mordecai from their cell the night previous, and that Moroni had genuinely expected everything to work out okay. At the very least, he planned on coming back home safely before the night was over, regardless of whatever happened.

But he didn't. Not when he planned on returning, and not even later. Now it was nearly dawn, and he still hadn't shown up. And Ruth didn't know, with absolute certainty at least, why. Of course, she had heard the rumors, and knew that creatures had been caught in what had been officially termed as a "rebel escapade" that had gone wrong. She just didn't know who the creatures were.

The rumors said that at least one of the unconfirmed amount of prisoners was a mouse, and further still, some said that the mouse was indeed Captain Moroni himself. But Ruth couldn't get enough evidence to confirm it, not without marching up to Midnight Castle herself and demanded that she be told. And no one from the rebellion had come to tell her the news, good or bad, as of yet, though she dearly hoped that they would come sooner rather than later.

And then there was the announcement that the captured creatures, whomever the poor beings were, would be "dealt with" on the morrow, and that the entire populace of Angola was to be at the steps of Midnight Castle to see it. Ruth was certain that meant an execution, and in that case, it didn't matter _who _the creatures was, she wanted to part of it, and could only feel sorry for the creatures that would have to die.

As such, she hadn't slept well that night, either.

Finally, as the sun rose that morning, there came a knock on the door of her and Moroni's cottage. Apprehensive and hopeful at the same time, she hurried to answer it, remembering at the last moment to play it safe, and opened the door a crack to peer around it to double check who it was. The mouse standing on the doorstep outside was wearing a cloak to hide his face, and keep it from being seen, but Ruth could still make out enough to know who it was.

"Oh, Amulek, thank the seasons!" she exclaimed, grabbing Amulek by the collar and quickly pulling into the cottage, to Amulek's surprise. "I was hoping one of you would show up! Where's Moroni? Are the rumors true? What kept you from coming until now?"

Amulek didn't reply right away, avoiding eye contact while Ruth closed the door again. "A whole mess of trouble, Miss Ruth." he finally said. "And yes, I'm afraid the rumors are true. The jailbreak last night didn't go at all as planned. Most of us managed to get away, including Mordecai, who are all now in hiding, but...Bluejay and Captain Moroni were captured by Methusael's forces."

Ruth winced, squeezing her eyes shut, and lowering her head.

"I'm sorry Ruth." Amulek continued. "If there was more that I could've done to prevent it, I would've, but...Moroni wouldn't have let me. He wanted me to get away to safety. He promised that he was going to follow, but..." he trailed off.

Ruth suddenly inhaled sharply, her eyes starting to brim with tears of fear. "Methusael plans to kill him and Bluejay, doesn't he?" she asked.

Amulek nodded. "I'm sorry Ruth." he repeated. "We're trying to come up with a plan, but...regretfully...it doesn't look good."

Ruth merely didn't reply, and silently continued to hold back her tears.

"We need to get you to safety, though." Amulek continued, changing the subject and going to business. "I wouldn't put it past Methusael to come after you too, so the sooner you're safe and away from his despicable claws, the better. Get some things, then I'll take you to the location where everyone else is hiding where..."

He was cut off when there was another knock on the door. The two mice promptly fell silent and turned to stare at the closed door.

"No one else should be coming here."Amulek remarked aloud, mostly to himself, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Ruth started to tremble, fearing whomever was behind the door. Sensing her fear, Amulek gently put himself between the door and her to shield her, and started slowly for the door. Whomever was on the other side knocked again, this time with more urgency. Amulek's paw went to his waist and drew his sword, the blade glinting in the light. Ruth gasped softly at the sight of the weapon, and grew more worried still.

Amulek reached for the doorknob slowly, gave it a twist, and then flung the door open, thrusting his swordtip forward to point at the creature on the other side. As he had expected, it was a fox, also wrapped up in a cloak and hood like Amulek was, but what he did not expect was who the fox was.

Adah stared calmly down the blade of the sword, ignoring it, to look Amulek in the eye. "If you wish to know why I'm here, then you had better let me in before I'm shot dead where I stand." she stated coldly. "For I'm being followed."

* * *

And so she was. As per Methusael's orders, Sais and Grim had been following the vixen wherever she went. They had gotten a late start, though, due to the fact that Adah had already left the castle by the time the weasel and the ferret had departed with their orders, but they were now quickly catching up with her, following her into the village by going from rooftop to cottage rooftop, much like what had been done the day of Methusael's coup d'état, when they had orders to assassinate Kani. Both mercenaries had their bows drawn and at the ready, waiting for when they had caught up fully with the vixen, who was in their sight, but not in their range or line of fire, and seeing if they would have the pleasure of slaying her.

They both had traveled swiftly and silently, going unnoticed by the inhabitants of the village...save for Adah herself, who knew of the ways of the mercenaries and how they operated, and had been keeping a watchful eye out for them. They didn't know it, but Adah had already managed to get two very brief glimpses of them as they all traveled deeper into the Angolian village. As such, Adah kept her pace quick and brisk until she arrived at her destination. She didn't bother to try and loose the mercenaries, as she knew it would be pointless, so she decided that she had to be quick.

It had taken her a moment to find it, as she only knew of the cottage's location due to looking through the records at the castle before leaving, and that only told it's location in simplistic words, and not in imagery. She had nearly walked past it, but caught herself just in time and stepped up to the cottage door and knocked, which brought her to the point of where she was confronted with an armed Amulek and knowing that there were two highly trained mercenaries after her, and worried she would be struck down at any moment before she had any chance to reveal why she was even here, in direct violation of Methusael's own orders.

However, Amulek was very curious to know himself why the vixen was here, and did not doubt the vixen's word that she was being followed, although he wasn't certain about the part claiming that she could be shot and killed at any moment. And as for the mercenaries, they were still too far behind. They could quite clearly see Adah standing there on the doorstep, but weren't close enough to guarantee a kill if they fired at her now, and hurried to get closer still. Adah was, for the moment, safe, although pushing it was unwise.

Finally, Amulek nodded, and stepped back to allow Adah to enter, keeping Ruth behind him, and his sword pointed at her throat. Unperturbed by the weapon pointing at her, Adah entered, and closed the door behind her, sheltering herself from any arrows that would've been fired from outside.

Sais cursed as he realized it, he and Grim finally getting close enough as they paused on the roof of the cottage across the street from Moroni and Ruth's cottage. "She's gone inside." he stated unnecessarily, glaring at the cottage that now sheltered the vixen before turning to look at Grim. "Now what?"

Grim sat on his haunches and peered at the cottage, keeping his bow at the ready. "Now, we wait." he said, then reasoned, "she can't stay in there forever."

"Well, we don't have forever to wait." Sais pointed out glumly. "Suppose for a moment that she doesn't come out again anytime soon?"

"We will wait and see." Grim stated. "If she does not exit the cottage again after a certain time of my choosing, then we will investigate further, raiding the cottage if we need to."

"Okay." Sais said, admitting that he couldn't object to that plan for the moment. "But suppose she's planning something with the mice?"

"She can't carry out any plans if she is no longer among the living." Grim pointed out flatly.

* * *

"All right, start explaining." Amulek demanded once they were all inside, pointing his swordblade at Adah still.

"I'm on your side." Adah explained flatly. "I'm here to help."

"Are you now?" Amulek asked sarcastically, not really buying it. "And how do you plan to prove that?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Adah asked flatly. She jabbed a claw at the door behind her. "I take one step out there, and I'll be shot dead. Would that be proof enough for you?"

"It just might, yes." Amulek remarked.

"Amulek!" Ruth protested from behind the mouse. "At least hear her through!"

"Why should I?" Amulek demanded, glancing back at Ruth. "Last I knew, she's still sided with the enemy!"

"Maybe so, but there must be a reason why Mistress Adah has come here." Ruth pointed out.

Amulek looked at Adah for a moment, who had not moved. "Why are you here, vixen?" he demanded.

"I _told _you, I'm here to help." Adah pressed with a cold glare.

"Help?" Amulek repeated bitterly. "Well, what about Moroni? Did you help him?"

"It is my intention to do so in anyway possible, but first you must hear me through."

"I'm still not sure I _want _to hear you through." Amulek stated. "Right now, though, my chief concern is getting Ruth to safety, then figure out some way to save Moroni before he's executed. Which, by the way, I can thank the likes of you for."

"It wasn't my idea to execute anyone, that was all Methusael's idea. I'm _completely _against the idea, but Methusael won't hear of it!"

"Then what good can you do?"

"Look, I have an idea."

"Oh, do you now?"

"Yes, I do. But I won't tell it to you unless you _trust _me."

"But I _don't_, and have no reason to! You had your chance to defy Methusael like Bluejay and Mordecai had, or so they told me, but you turned it down!"

"I was scared, frightened, and Methusael promised me that he wouldn't hurt Kani if I helped him." Adah lowered her gaze slightly at the memory. "That had made all the difference at the time...but I see now it was nothing but a lie." her glare narrowed further still. "It's time I did something about that."

* * *

"Now?" Sais prompted.

"Not yet, Sais." Grim grumbled as he watched the cottage.

"Oh c'mon, she's been in there for quite awhile now!"

"Not long enough."

"She could be doing anything in there!"

"I realize that."

"We need to stop her!"

"And we will. But let's let her begin to think that she's safe for the moment..."

* * *

"What does Lord Kani have to do with this?" Ruth asked aloud, curious.

Adah lowered her gaze again, this time in shame. "Kani was Methusael's bargaining chip for control over me." she said simply.

Ruth furrowed her brow, and glanced briefly at Amulek, who seemed unimpressed. "You two were close?" she asked.

Adah hesitated, then nodded. "Methusael knew it, too." she said. "He said that he wouldn't kill Kani if I helped him, and fearing for Kani's life...I felt compelled to agree...for his own safety, not my own. Because of that, I've done things that I'm not at all proud of, and that you have every right to blame me for. If Kani knew some of the things that I've done..." she sniffed, then shook her head. "But if I _hadn't_, Kani wouldn't have lived long enough to escape. Methusael would have killed him along with his brother and his mother long ago. It was because of me that he had the chance to live, and escape to who knows where." she paused for a moment. "Please, where has Kani gone?"

"Hopefully somewhere helpful to our cause." Amulek stated, still not quite convinced. "As for you, I still think I should kill you where you stand."

"Fine." Adah said, standing there sternly. "If you really want to and think I deserve nothing more and that I can't help you, then just do it. I just ask you make it quick." she then fell silent, as if waiting for Amulek to carry out the deed.

Amulek, however, did not, but he didn't back down, either.

"Amulek, if she has an idea, that's one idea more than you have." Ruth pointed out, who was more willing to trust the vixen.

Amulek blinked, and frowned, knowing this to be true, but not really wanting to admit it. Finally, he let out a growl, and lowered his blade.

"All right, I'll take the gamble, and listen to your idea, _but first_ we're getting Ruth out of here and to safety." Amulek announced. "She's no safer here than you are."

"Good." Adah said, relaxing slightly and grinning. "I think you won't regret it."

* * *

"Grim...if we wait much longer..." Sais remarked, growing ever more impatient.

Grim nodded. "Very well, then, I believe we have waited long enough." he said, straightening. "We will raid the cottage."

"Finally!" Sais remarked, eager to get on with the matter.

There was an upstairs window that was set in the left side of the cottage, and the bedroom beyond it appeared to be empty. Grim decided they would enter from there. With both he and Sais keeping their bows raised and ready to fire, they forced the window open and clambered into the room. They then began searching the house, ready to shoot anything that moved. They quickly discovered that the top floor was empty and void of life. Quickly, they moved downstairs, and stealthily searched that floor as well. Again, they found no one. The two regrouped in the main room and looked at each other.

"Where did they go?" Sais asked, puzzled. "I mean, we didn't see any of them leave."

"I did not hear them leave through the front door either." Grim remarked, also looking confused.

"But they are clearly aren't here." Sais said slightly snidely. "I mean, we've looked everywhere, so I say they managed to escape."

He turned have gave Grim a self-satisfied grin, which Grim narrowed his eyes at.

"So, I guess this means I can tell you 'I told you so' and get exclusive bragging rights." the ferret continued happily.

"Do that, and I will cut you in half." Grim grumbled, giving his companion a glare, and marched back upstairs. "Come. There is time to find them still."

* * *

Later that morning, however, the mercenaries still hadn't found their target by the time the execution was to take place. At that time, the royal guard, as per their orders, began rounding up the inhabitants of the village, and began herding them, regardless of how reluctant they were, on up to Midnight Castle, to witness the execution. They were gathered at the end of the stone steps that led up to the castle itself, and milled about nervously, under the watchful eyes of the royal guard.

Standing on the steps already was Methusael, grinning as he watched the crowds of creatures gather. Also with him were two members of the royal guard who were two do the execution, armed with razor sharp swords that they were keeping lowered for the moment. The two prisoners had not been brought out yet. Juniper was also present to watch, but only at Methusael's request. He personally didn't want to be so close to the site of the execution, but held his tongue. Beyond that, no one else was on the steps with them.

As the last of the creatures to be gathered arrived, though, Methusael was unexpectedly joined by another creature who stepped out through the castle's main doors and idly strolled over to stand beside Methusael, like nothing was wrong. Methusael did a double take when he saw her.

"Adah!" he exclaimed, not hiding his surprise to see her, which quickly turned to suspicion. "Where the devil have you been?"

"None of your business." Adah replied curtly.

But it was. Methusael knew that Adah was up to something, and had seemingly gotten away with it, for his mercenaries were to report in if Adah returned to the castle having done nothing suspicious, or killed if she was caught doing what she wasn't supposed to. Obviously, neither had happened. What Methusael didn't know was that his mercenaries had no clue where Adah was still, and were busy combing the village, hoping to find some trace of her, fearing Methusael's wrath. They had no clue where Ruth and Amulek had gone as well, but that wasn't part of their concern.

For the moment, however, Methusael wasn't quite sure how to deal with Adah's sudden reappearance, and while he didn't trust her in the slightest, he couldn't figure out what he should do about it, save play along and see what Adah would do next, if anything. So he let the subject drop for a moment.

Finally, he spoke again, addressing a different subject. "I didn't really expect you'd come to watch as well." he commented to the vixen. "Seeing you were against the idea and all."

"I came to mostly see how the villagers would react to the execution." Adah replied bluntly. "Should prove to be interesting, especially whatever your reaction to it might be. I'm still very much against the idea, however, and I still stand by what I've said before."

"Then allow me to prove you wrong." Methusael said, and ended the conversation there. A moment later, he also idly put some distance between himself and Adah, not trusting the vixen. Adah did not protest.

Finally, everyone who was going to arrive had arrived. There were probably a few stragglers still, and a few that were unaccounted for, but Methusael didn't mind that so much. There was enough of the bulk of the populace of the Angolian village for the wanted effect to work. Grinning, he stepped forward, and motioned for silence. He quickly got it.

"Welcome, everyone!" he greeted with a loud voice so to be heard. "And thank you for coming. No doubt that since last night, you have been hearing a great deal of varying accounts about what occurred. I will now briefly summarize the tale. The rebelling mice, it seems, had found a way to gain access to certain cells in the dungeons of Midnight Castle, and used this to their advantage, attempting a jailbreak to free two prisoners in the cell, one of which was the healer, Bluejay, who had been placed in the dungeons for the murder of Lady Grinta by Lord Kani's order. The group then tried to break away, but I am happy to say that they were caught in the act by the royal guard, and they attacked. Unfortunately, most of those involved escaped, but I did manage to capture two of them, which I bring before you now." he turned to look at the closed castle doors. "Bring them out!" he called.

The doors opened, and the two prisoners that had been waiting just behind those doors under guard during all of this were roughly brought out. Many of the mice gasped when they saw Captain Moroni's angered face, struggling slightly as he was brought forward. Bluejay, who was a bit calmer, but was also quite clearly angry herself, didn't generate as much of a reaction. She still bore most of the orange coloring and stolen uniform from the failed attempted escape the night previous, but enough of the coloring had rubbed off now that her identity was clear.

The two prisoners were then brought down the steps and forced to kneel beside their would-be executioners. Then there was a pause, allowed by Methusael to allow the onlookers get a good look at the prisoners, and for the prisoners to get a good look at the crowd.

"I believe you recognize these two." Methusael finally stated, speaking again. "Bluejay, whom you already know for her crimes. New to you, however, is Moroni, captain of the Angolian militia of mice, and is now to be revealed not only a rebel, but the _leader _of the rebels, plotting to take over the land, through any means possible. You should already be familiar with the crimes that are charged against him." he paused, surveying the crowd, which had seemed to get a little on edge. "You are gathered here now...to observe what I do to rebels who resist my rule."

He then nodded to the executioners. Moving jointly, they both raised their blades, and prepared to make the final kill. Bluejay and Moroni acted calm, and did little to resist now. They both scanned the crowd now for familiar faces to look at before the deed was done. Moroni did some searching, before he finally picked out the face he was hoping to see.

Amulek. Wearing a cloak that was drawn over his head, and acting inconspicuous, he made eye contact with Moroni.

He then grinned at his captain.

And winked.

Moroni looked at him for a moment, and grinned to himself as well, glad that everything was ready. Moving swiftly, but discreetly, he carefully pulled a small dagger from within the sleeve of his tunic. It had been secretly given to him in passing by Adah, as she had exited the castle through the front doors, where he and Bluejay had been waiting. Moroni had taken the dagger without reaction at all, and was now ready to use it. Wrapping his claws around the hilt, he waited for the right moment.

The two executioners lined up their blades with the necks of the prisoners. That done, they then raised up their blades to do the deed.

It was then that chaos broke loose.

With one swift motion, Moroni cut through the bonds tying his paws behind his back with the dagger, sprang up, and plunged the dagger into the fox about to slay him. A collective gasp rippled out from all present, and the other executioner, catching the motion out of the corner of his eye, hesitated mid-swing to look up. By this point Moroni had taken the sword from the executioner he had attacked, letting the dead creature fall, and flung the blade at the other executioner, taking him in the chest, and then toppled over.

Methusael yelped and rushed forward to do something, Juniper doing likewise, both of them shocked. As Methusael passed Adah, however, who had been acting rather calm up until this point, the vixen suddenly lashed out and grabbed Methusael, tackling him, and wrapping one arm around his neck.

"Surprise." Adah whispered victoriously into his ear.

Juniper, seeing this, hesitated, torn as to which issue he should tackle first. In doing so, it bought Moroni time to rush over to Bluejay, who was shocked as she didn't have any forewarning this was all going to happen, and quickly freed the vixen from her bonds using the dagger. Once freed, Bluejay grabbed up one of the fallen executioner swords and joined into the melee. By this point in time, the crowd of onlookers had broken out into a cacophonous panic. The royal guards moved to leave their assigned duties of watching the villagers and quickly surged towards the steps to help attack, only to be attacked from within the crowd of villagers itself by the rebels, gathered in full force under disguise in the crowd, with slingstones.

Juniper finally decided to go and rescue Methusael by this point, and charged Adah, who still had the fox securely in her grip, despite Methusael's struggling and clawing at the arm that was wrapped around his neck. She waited until Juniper was close enough, then pushed Methusael roughly at him, knocking both creatures down, and into a tangle. Adah then rushed down the steps, motioning for Moroni and Bluejay to follow him. They surged into the disorganized ranks of the royal guard, pushed through them, then merged into the crowd of villagers, which had proved to be composed more of rebels now, all of which were now attacking.

The battle continued for a few moments before Methusael, panicked, and seeing that Adah's predictions having come true, and seeing his plans begin to crumble all around him, finally called for the royal guard to fall back to the castle. Overwhelmed by the sudden attack, the royal guard was more than happy to oblige, and quickly fell back.

The sudden battle then broke up, as the rebels did not chase after the fleeing royal guard, gathering around the castle's entrance. Save for the two executioners, no one was killed in the scuffle, as well, but as Methusael overlooked the group of rebels that now crowded around the steps of the castle, he saw that he had lost the upper paw over the whole matter. The castle was surrounded by an army of rebels that rivaled in numbers to that of the royal guard's, which was in total disarray at the moment. The fox felt a chill run down his back at the thought.

"No." he murmured aloud. "How...how could this have happened?"

A small group of creatures, composed of Moroni, Amulek, Bluejay, and Adah, being the closest, broke away from the rest of the rebels, to deliver, and stood there watching Methusael and the creatures he controlled, looking victorious.

"I told you this would happen, Methusael!" Adah crowed aloud, feeling truly happy for the first time in several days. "Never underestimate your enemies!"

"Or your allies, for that matter, because you never know if they might turn on you!" Bluejay added with an amused grin when she thought about Adah's presence.

"We have you surrounded, Methusael!" Moroni spoke up. "We're willing to fight down to the last creature, but we don't want that bloodshed. We're willing to spare your life if you stand down and surrender your control of the land and the throne of his majesty, Kani Fennix, immediately!"

Methusael hesitated for one panic filled moment, then narrowed his eyes as he gained new resolve.

"Never!" he replied back. "I will beat the likes of you yet!"

"Then take note of this day, Methusael!" Moroni called back. "Because as of this day, civil war has broken loose in Angola!"


	45. Chapter 44

Kani meets the Redwallers, and the Redwallers meet Kani. Some discussion about the matter insues. More or less. Minor reference to "Doomwyte". Next chapter will probably pick up from here...not _entirely _sure where it'll go as of yet. :)

Chapter 44

Kani wasn't entirely sure what to make of his current predicament now.

He wasn't even sure if he really should stay here for any length of time anymore.

It wasn't because of the location. Redwall Abbey, true to Mathoni's word, was a simply beautiful structure that, despite it's smaller size and fairly simplistic design, rivaled the beauty of Midnight Castle back in Angola. The abbey seemed quite charming to Kani. In fact, more than charming, it was wonderfully elegant, and clearly had seen many seasons of caring and loving use by an untold number of generations of creatures of old. Kani knew without a doubt that Redwall had many stories hidden away in it's ancient bricks made of red sandstone.

But beyond that, what made Kani uneasy now was the populace residing within the abbey, for they, as he had begun to fear prior to his arrival at the abbey, seemed to feel even more uneasy about the fox's presence. In fact, of all the creatures Kani had met in the abbey thus far, only Mathoni had proven to be friendly. All the others had treated Kani differently, with apprehension, distrust, outright fear, and even mild disrespect from some. They hadn't at all welcomed him warmly with paws stretched out to greet him like Mathoni's flattering descriptions of the Redwallers had lead him to believe, something he had greatly hoped for even after Mathoni himself had admitted after their encounter with Tide that there was no such welcome waiting for him here.

Now, it was painfully obvious, and it left Kani feeling depressed on top of everything else. And now, sitting before a council of Redwallers all not bothering to hide their feelings about the fox, Kani uneasily wondered if it'd be wiser to leave or to stay, worrying that doing either might spark a conflict. One thing he _was _sure he was going to do was follow Mathoni's advice, and stay silent (unless asked upon to answer a question or something such as that) and leaving the talking to his otter friend, who knew how things worked here much better than he certainly did.

See, once Mathoni had led Kani into the abbey through the secret tunnel (which Mathoni had yet to explain to anyone how he knew about it), had gotten the hedgehog residing the abbey's cellars, Omni, to open the door (and explaining briefly the situation to him at the cellarhog's own insistence) word of their arrival was quickly distributed about the abbey, and a meeting was quickly organized in an underground meeting room, or dining room of sorts that Mathoni referred to as Cavern Hole, and the abbey's elders were gathered to discuss this new turn of events. While they were doing so, Mathoni pointed out each creature and told Kani their name, and little bit about what he probably should expect from each one, up until everyone had gathered, and the discussion had begun. This was what they were doing now.

"Mathoni," a powerful and muscular otter that Kani recognized right away had combat experience named Skipper Rowe, began speaking, "when I sent ye out t' return that medallion t' it's proper owner, I really didn't expect ye t' come back with anythin', much less a...a..." he trailed off for a moment in search of the right word, gesturing to Kani with one paw, "...a _fox_."

"Well...neither did I." Mathoni countered rather weakly. "It...just sort of..._happened_ that way."

"I presume, then, you have a logical explanation for all of this, then?" the healer mouse, Sister Mint asked coldly with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Aye, as a matter o' fact, I do, mates." Mathoni said brightly. He jabbed a claw at Kani sitting beside him. "Angola is in a state of civil war, or at least is real close t' it. Kani 'ere needs 'elp keepin' th' peace."

"So you jolly well thought it would be all right to bring him _here _to find it, regardless of the bloomin' fact that we've already got problems of our own, in case you didn't know?" Friar Machaerus asked, sounding annoyed as he straightened his chef's hat as he spoke.

"Well..." Mathoni hesitated, looking a little taken aback by the tone the hare had taken, "... it was _his _idea." he again jabbed a claw at Kani, who winced as the spotlight was shifted to him.

"Your idea?" the recorder squirrel, Linus, asked after a momentary pause.

"We were unaware of the situation occurring here at this time when we left." Kani stated slightly nervously in his defense.

"Did you now?" Linus asked, looking like he doubted it.

"Of course they were." Abbot Isaiah, who Kani recognized as the abbey's leader, remarked calmly. Unlike everyone else, Isaiah, while nonetheless apprehensive, seemed more ready to trust Kani and Mathoni's tale. "Mathoni left this abbey well before the Quorum of Warriors showed up, and Master Kani comes from the country of Angola, where they probably are unfamiliar with Redwall." he paused and glanced inquiringly at Kani. "Am I correct, Master Kani?"

Taken aback slightly at being addressed so formally, something Kani wasn't used to after having spent several days with Mathoni calling him 'matey', he nodded. "That is correct, Father Abbot." Kani replied. "Some vague tales of your abbey have reached Angola, but they're mere mentions of a name, and most do not know about it. But I do, and I came on peaceful terms."

The Redwallers were silent for a brief moment while they processed this information.

"How can we trust him?" Machaerus asked boldly, if being quick to judge. "We only have _his _word on the matter, after all. May very be an enemy, eh wot?"

"Foxes in Angola are not like foxes from 'ere within Mossflower, friar." Rowe remarked, coming to Kani's defense. "I understand that they are actually quite peaceful creatures."

"But do you know that for certain, Rowe?" Sister Mint asked. "Did you have the privilege of _meeting_ any of these foxes?"

Rowe visibly hesitated. "No." he admitted. "But I did meet a mouse there that I was good friends with who 'ad, an' he only 'ad good thing t' say 'bout th' lot."

"Mormon." Mathoni said, offering the name politely.

"That's right." Rowe said with a nod, then used the chance to change the subject. "How is Mormon?"

Mathoni winced, and failed to answer right away.

"I'm afraid he died this past winter, due to a mixture of illness and old age." Kani replied for Mathoni. He paused, then added for good measure, "I remember the day well." Granted, he remembered the day for Hax's murder which occurred on the same day, but Kani thought it might help.

If it did, it wasn't readily apparent. "Well, that's no help." Machaerus remarked with a snort. "Only trustworthy creature who would know anythin' at all about th' matter, and he's dead."

"In case you forgot, Machaerus, I have been to Angola myself, and I would hope you would consider me to be a trustworthy creature." Rowe remarked hotly to the hare. "Furthermore, I trust Mathoni's word on the matter, as should all of you. If he says that the fox can be trusted, then I trust him as well."

"I only have one item I wish to point out about that." Linus said. "The _last _creature we gave our trust to despite our better judgement is the same creature that landed us in this mess with that army of religious-maniacs, and it was that same creature that, need I remind you all, kidnaped my son."

Mathoni looked up sharply at this. "Not Alexander?" he asked in shock.

"Yes, Alexander, unfortunately." Linus replied grimly, and hung his head in frustration.

Mathoni looked around at the faces of the other Redwallers in puzzlement. "Just wot has been goin' on 'ere while I've been away?" he asked.

"Not so fast, you." Machaerus interrupted, straightening suddenly in his chair. "First you tell us why you've brought a flippin' fox into our good abbey."

"I _did_." Mathoni pressed. "He needs help. Our help."

"But clearly I'm not going to get it, now am I?" Kani interrupted coldly, standing. "Clearly, none of you realize the magnitude of my situation. A deadly civil war, if not worse, is about to erupt in Angola, simply because we were betrayed, by a creature who wants it all for himself. Were it not for _him,_ I would be there, at home, and not here, fruitlessly asking for assistance from distrusting abbeydwellers. That," Kani paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes slightly, "and my family would still be alive. You don't _begin_ to see what I've been through."

"And I don't think this fox realizes wot _we've _jolly well been through." Machaerus remarked, ignoring Kani, and acting like he wasn't even there.

Kani wouldn't stand for it. "The _fox _has a _name_, hare." he stated flatly, giving the rude hare dagger-eyes.

A tense silence followed. Abbot Isaiah pulled at his whiskers in thought for a few moments, looking to be surprisingly unworried by the tension that had arisen.

"Kani is right about one thing." the elderly mouse finally admitted. "He requires help. Unfortunately, we have none to give at the moment."

"And I understand and acknowledge that." Kani remarked. "And I'm sorry for your troubles, I really am. Perhaps I can help in some way." he paused. "But I am _also_ quite offended that for an abbey claiming to be one of peace and aide, you have given me little of either since I arrived. Nor can you seem to get past the issue of my species."

"And again, you are correct." Isaiah agreed. "We seem to be stuck on that particular topic."

"Foxes aren't to be trusted, Father Abbot." Sister Mint commented coldly. "Not without proof stating otherwise, which we have none of. Just the an account of a very young otter, who, quite frankly, might have been told lies from the beginning."

"Wot, ye sayin' I'm gullible?" Mathoni asked, taking offense. "Where's _yore _proof, Sister Mint?"

"I don't care _wot _proof we've got, I say this fox has a lot of gall t' come here and demand we help him." Machaerus grumbled loudly.

Kani folded his ears back and glared at the hare.

"He _does_ have no authority coming here like this." Linus was forced to agree, his paws clasped together and his head resting upon it. "No authority at all."

"But he _does _have authority!" Mathoni objected, rising. "He has royal blood! He _is _the rightful leader of Angola!"

The group now looked at Kani in surprise.

"Ye're from the Fennix family line?" Rowe asked in surprise.

Kani was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Lord Kani Fennix at your service." he said politely.

"An' th' rest of th' royal family?" Rowe went on, remembering Kani allusion to them from before.

Kani paused, his expression turning to one of suppressed sorrow. "Dead." he remarked, lowering his gaze. "Murdered...by a fox named Methusael Redd...who I had once trusted as a loyal advisor, as second in command to myself...and as a friend. He betrayed all of that...so he could take the throne for himself." he raised his head again, his eyes changing into a determined glare. "And whether or not I get the help, I've sworn that I will kill him some day. Some day soon."

Another silence fell. This time, more of the Redwallers seemed to be a bit more sympathetic to Kani.

Machaerus wasn't one of them. "So you have royal blood, fox." he said softly. "But I wouldn't care if you were the abbot of this abbey. I don't trust you."

"I'm not asking you to." Kani said. "I merely came to ask for help, but I see now I can't have it, for a number of reasons, both logical and illogical. Mostly, you just can't get past the fact of who and what I am. Too blind to see I'm not what you think. Automatically assuming that by being a fox, I'm not worthy of your help. Fine. Whatever. Think what you will. I did what I came here to do, and clearly, I have my answer. Suppose I'll just have to leave now. I'm sorry if I've wasted your time." he then sat down and waited patiently like a youth waiting to be excused to go play or some such like that, only sterner.

More silence fell. Machaerus seemed taken aback, and for a moment was at a loss for words.

"Now wait," he finally managed to stutter out, "I hardly think that's fair, wot-wot..."

"That's enough, Machaerus." Isaiah interrupted with his usual calm demeanor. "I think you made your point quite awhile ago. Now, allow me to make one of my own." he cleared his throat, and addressed Kani. "Lord Kani, I apologize for all of this, and that you have come all of this way to no avail. But unfortunately, we are unable to assist you at this time, as you know. I am sorry we cannot be of more service to you, and I am _greatly _sorry for the loss of your family and the terrible betrayal you have faced. However, while you are free to leave whenever you so choose, I would recommend against it. The forces and followers of the mythical Gemini are all over, and you pressed your luck enough just getting in here. I worry you would not be so lucky when leaving. You are welcome to stay at Redwall until such time that it is safe to leave."

Kani blinked, slightly touched at the abbot's kind gesture, the real first he had gotten from anyone other than Mathoni since he arrived. "Thank you Father Abbot." he said softly. A pause. "I believe I will take you up on the offer to stay for now."

Isaiah nodded. "Very well then." he said in finalization. "I will see to it that you receive what you need."

"Wot?" Machaerus asked, surprised. "That's it?"

"Father Abbot..." Linus began, "are you certain you can place that kind of trust in him? Remember the teach..."

"Silence, all of you." Isaiah interrupted, and looked annoyed, a rarity for him. "I have made my decision. You do not have to like it. However, regarding the matter of trusting Lord Kani, I must disagree. It is quite clear he can be trusted, and I am shocked you all fail to see that." he paused, looking at the others. "Besides, he would have come here with Mathoni regardless of how we felt about it, no matter the circumstances. If he has gone to all the trouble of coming here...then perhaps he is meant to be here."

"Excuse me Father Abbot, but how are you so sure of that?" Sister Mint asked.

Isaiah was silent for a moment, then gazed past Kani's shoulder where, in his eye, Martin the Warrior's spirit stood silently in the corner. Kani followed the abbot's gaze, and upon seeing nothing, glanced back curiously at Isaiah.

"Just a theory I'm willing to test." the abbot finally replied.

Yet another silence fell. Then, finally, Illia, (her twin brother Tobias out on the walltops, filling in for Rowe) who had been silent during the whole meeting due to wondering about a certain matter, finally couldn't hold her peace any longer.

"Mathoni," she began, changing the subject, "How _did _ye get yoreself an' Kani into th' abbey?"

"Oh, that's easy." Mathoni said with a proud grin. "I used th' tunnel."

"Yes, I know ye used th' tunnel." Illia repeated, annoyed. "But...how did ye even know it was there? I certainly didn't."

"Aye, she has a point, I didn't know about it either." Machaerus agreed.

"Nor did I." Sister Mint added.

"I didn't either." Rowe piped in as well.

"Nor I." Linus added.

They all look to the abbot.

"I must admit I did not know of it's existence either." Isaiah admitted slowly.

"Ye kiddin' me, mates?" Mathoni asked in surprise. "Ye mean ye don't remember th' story? With th' jewels, an' th' ravens, an' the tree rats, an' all of that?"

"Wot story?" Machaerus asked.

"The story of th' Doomwytes!" Mathoni pressed, "Y'know, where they search for the jeweled eyes of th' Great Doomwyte Idol? They found th' tunnel durin' that?" When he only got blank looks from all present, Mathoni grew even more surprised. "Oh, c'mon, mates! Ye mean none of ye can remember th' tale? It was my very favorite t' listen to in Abbey School!"

"We praise you for clearly paying more attention to the tale than we obviously were, Mathoni." Isaiah said with a grin.

"Although, ye risked leadin' the followers of Gemini right in 'ere by doin' that." Rowe pointed out, wanting to at least make that much clear. "Thankfully, though, ye didn't."

"Just what has been going on here, anyway?" Kani asked curiously.

Isaiah sighed, then began to explain. "Not long after Mathoni left, a quite curious mouse arrived at our abbey, who asked to speak with us. After we had allowed him to do so, he quite bluntly told us that everything _we _believed in, Martin, the Dark Forest, everything, was false, and that the religion _he _supported, some kind of radical religion featuring an omnipotent being known as Gemini. He also said that if we didn't give up our ways and adopt his, we would, put simply, be killed.

"After that, he stayed at the abbey for about a day, then, acting upon a message he had received by a jackdaw, and he kidnaped Alexander, and both vanished without a trace before we could stop them, and we were unable to pick up their trail again. Not long after that, the army you can now see surrounding our abbey turned up, with orders to destroy us for refusing to join them and their religion. We've been fighting them ever since."

"Nearly got us a time or two, as well." Rowe added.

"But we've managed to get this far." Isaiah said. "So there's still hope."

And yet another moment of silence fell, this time a more morbid one, as everyone couldn't help but think what would happen if the conflict ended badly.

"I believe that this meeting is now over." Isaiah said finally, changing the subject. "At least, I fail to see a reason for it to continue." he turned to Mathoni. "Mathoni, perhaps you could lead Kani to a dormitory?"

Mathoni nodded eagerly, and jumped up, motioning for Kani to follow. The fox silently did, but he did give one last glance back at the Redwallers. The Redwallers watched him leave in unison.

"I still say this is a bad idea." Machaerus grumbled.

"I believe you have said as such once before." Isaiah said remarked without making eye contact.

"I was right that time, too."

"So you were. But I believe Kani can be trusted a lot more than the teacher could ever have."

"You said the same bloomin' thing about the teacher."

"I _never _trusted the teacher, Machaerus. But this is Redwall Abbey, where we are supposed to _help _and _aide _creatures, to be hospitable to all, regardless of whoever they were, and I strove to make sure that principle was still followed. However, you were right, the teacher should have never stayed in the abbey for as long as he did."

"Then why allow Kani to?" Sister Mint asked rhetorically.

Isaiah answered anyway. "Because Lord Kani is different." he said. "Lord Kani I can trust. And I don't know how, but I think someday all of you will too."

There was one final moment of silence.

"I certainly hope ye are right, Father Abbot." Illia remarked, rising from her chair. "Now, good day, everyone."

She then left. Everyone else, going at their own speed, also left, until only Isaiah remained, sitting in his chair. Isaiah, that is, and one other.

"Martin, why didn't you warn me about Kani?" Isaiah asked aloud.

Martin, still standing in the corner, pushed off the wall with one paw and strolled towards the abbot. "Ah, but I did, old friend." he remarked with a grin.

"You told me, once, that Mathoni would return from his journey with another, but you never told me who or what that creature would be." Isaiah remarked calmly. "And I sense you have a reason why." he gave Martin a curious look. "Just what are you planning, Martin?"

Martin merely grinned in response.


	46. Chapter 45

Redwall-centric filler chapter by own choice. Basically builds off of last chapter, and focuses mostly on the subject of Kani, addressing various issues I wanted to address. Very _vaugely_ hints at what's coming ahead, but I'm confident y'all will miss it. :P Was going to have Mathoni meet up with Charles in this chapter, but it wasn't entirely relevant, and would've really only addressed that Charles has gotten past his "crippled-with-grief-and-self-shame" stage and into a "bitter-but-making-the-best-of-it" stage. Brief references to "Weylan's Family" and technically to "Marlfox", but that could attributed again back to "Weylan's Family" in of itself.

So, yeah, enjoy the chapter. Next chapter, I'll...well...I'll let you guys find out for yourselves. ;)

Chapter 45

Like the council of elders that had met with Kani and Mathoni upon their arrival at Redwall, the rest of the populace in the abbey had very mixed opinions about this new development. Most of them, again like the council, had looked upon the idea of a fox being in the abbey with apprehension and fear, wondering what the fox was doing, and planned on doing, and if he really could be trusted. Some scorned the idea, and didn't trust Kani at all, but they kept their distance from the fox, too, not going around in search of a fight about the matter. Very few were quite ready to welcome Kani with open arms, though some were open to the idea. They were just waiting for final confirmation that the fox was who he says he was, and was actually a _good_ fox.

Regardless of the opinion, the gossip within the abbey was focused on nothing but the subject now.

"Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of there being an actual race of good foxes instead of there merely being bad ones for a change." Linus's wife, Aquila, remarked to her husband as they strolled through the corridors of the abbey. "But still, he _is _a fox, and we should still play it safe around him until we can know for certain that he is actually who he claims to be."

"Good foxes aren't unheard of, though, but they are rare." Linus said in reply, his nose buried in a record book that he was reading as he walked. "Redwall, even, has encountered a few, most notably a peculiar healer by the name of Jaydee, from way back in the time of Matthias the Warrior, who originally was sided with a vermin horde that was attacking at the time, but after spending a great deal of time with the Redwallers themselves, apparently, she decided to switch sides in the end, and became an ally, so much so, she was even offered the chance to stay at the abbey. Although, she turned it down, and left, journeying south, to where her homeland was."

Aquila gently pulled her oblivious husband closer to her to move him out of the way of a passing mole in the hallway before replying. "I suppose, then, if this abbey could trust one fox, it shouldn't be so hard to trust another."

"You'd think that, but it's still a hard idea for some Redwallers to wrap their minds around." Linus remarked with a shake of his head, not looking away from his book. "Besides, should we really be focusing on the matter? We _are _still at siege, after all, by a group of creatures that are responsible for the kidnaping of..."

"Don't remind me, Linus." Aquila pleaded quickly, looking away sharply as she quickly blinked away tears that had built up at the reminder that her son was still missing. "It's...not easy to keep optimistic if I think too much about it."

"Maybe that's why it's such a large topic of debate then, this fox." Linus remarked as he looked up briefly from his book to look at the various creatures they were passing, discussing that very subject with their companions. "We all need something to keep our minds off the bigger issues this abbey faces."

They wandered into Great Hall where a large number of Redwallers were milling about, unable to go outside onto the grounds as most of them were due to the threat of the Quorum of Warriors presented outside the walls, discussing and talking about the various issues of the abbey. Most of them were indeed about the fox, Kani.

"You see?" Linus remarked to his wife as they started down the stairs that led into the large room. "It's their way of hiding from the harsh reality of the truth."

"Yes," Aquila was forced to admit as she watched it all, "But at what expense for us...and the fox we're talking about?"

* * *

The Dibbuns of the abbey were especially interested in the matter of Kani, as they had never seen a fox enter the abbey before in their relatively short lifetimes. So they were naturally curious. Some weren't even sure what a fox was, and speculated what he might look like in quite wild and vivid descriptions that always varied...save for the fact that it had for some reason been unanimously agreed upon by those youths that a fox was red, and had two tails, horns, and the ability to breathe fire.

To try and satisfy their curiosity, they all tried and catch a glimpse of Kani, and upon somehow discovering which dormitory the fox would be staying in, they all gathered around at the door, trying to get a look at him by peering through the keyhole. That is until Mathoni, Sister Mint, and finally, the abbot himself, found out about the matter, and had to intervene and shoo them off again, and give the fox some well-deserved privacy. To try and take their minds off the matter, Friar Machaerus was reluctantly volunteered to help keep them busy, and the annoyed hare put them to work counting the stores of beans he was taking account of in Cavern Hole, with the promise of giving the Dibbuns some raspberry tarts with meadowcream spread on top afterwards.

But, being Dibbuns and thus having very short attention spans (not to mention the fact that Machaerus had neglected to consider that most of the Dibbuns couldn't count very high) the babes quickly started to loose interest and began clamoring to have the tarts now rather than later, and Machaerus's patience was rapidly growing thin. It was Omni, surprisingly enough, who came to the rescue, who upon hearing the Dibbuns comical descriptions of Kani that they were still in the process of inventing, and decided to sit the Dibbuns on the steps leading in and out of Cavern Hole and first give them the proper explanation of what a fox looked like, then tell the story of how Kani had come to be here as well as he knew it.

He was still in the process of telling it, having garnered the full attention of all the Dibbuns present, when Tobias and Illia walked past, having just finished their luncheon and were heading out to the walltops to take up patrol again.

"Will ye look at that." Tobias remarked with a grin as he watched Omni quite emphatically tell the story, acting out parts of it in the process. "Our quiet ol' celler'og is rather good at tellin' stories."

"Dunno if it's really that accurate, though." Illia remarked, her brow furrowed in disapproval as she watched Omni mime out an easily fictional fight scene in his tale as he told it, to the Dibbuns delight.

"Mebbe so, but that don't matter with th' Dibbuns, they just want t' 'ear a good an' eventful story." Tobias said as they exited the staircase and stepped out into Great Hall.

"Aye, but Tobias, is it really our place?" Illia inquired. "Mebbe this fox, Kani, won't like th' idea of wot we're tellin' th' abbey 'bout 'im."

Tobias was silent for a moment, not having thought of that, but not wanted to admit that his twin sister might have a point, he instead changed the subject. "Wot is this fox like, anyway, seein' I missed th' chance t' meet 'im?" he asked as they walked across the hall. "Is he really a good 'un, like wot everybody's been talkin' 'bout?"

Illia hesitated. "I don't know." she admitted as they reached the main doors that led outside the abbey and out onto the grounds outside. "It's hard t' tell without gettin' t' know more 'bout 'im. He seems trustworthy t' me, but..."

"Looks can be deceivin'." Tobias finished as they walked outside and across the grounds, heading for the walls. "And foxes are very good at bein' deceivin'. 'Member that 'un fox that tried t' break into Castle Floret way back afore we left t' stay at Redwall? Thought he was a Marlfox come back from th' dead, but really was just a plain ol' red fox in disguise?"

"Aye, I remember." Illia said as they marched up the steps. "I don't think this Kani is like that, though. And all he'd need is a chance t' prove that for himself."

"But th' question is, will we give 'im that chance?" Tobias asked as they arrived at the wall's ramparts.

"I've been askin' meself th' same question, Tobias." Rowe remarked suddenly as the two strolled up to where he stood and nearly passed him, not realizing he was standing there. Instead of being turned to look out at the forces of the Quorum of Warriors outside the abbey's walls, he was instead turned to look at the abbey itself, at a dormintory window where Kani himself could just barely be seen peering out the window at himself, looking out at the horizon. "An' while I, meself, am willin' t' give Lord Kani th' chance he deserves, I'm not so confident 'bout th' rest of th' abbey."

Tobias and Illia followed Rowe's gaze.

"That him?" Tobias asked, pointing with one claw at the head in the window.

Rowe nodded. "Been like that for awhile now. Probably has a lot on his mind."

"At least he's got peace t' sort it out in now." Illia commented.

"More or less." Rowe agreed. "But..." he shook his head. "Lord Kani's been through a lot, ye know. His family's been killed. His homeland is on th' verge of turmoil. His throne an' control of th' land was stolen right out from under 'im. He came 'ere for 'elp, 'elp we can't spare for 'im. He's got nowhere else t' turn to." he sighed. "He's stuck."

"Must be real frustratin' for 'im." Tobias agreed.

"An' we ain't helpin' by distrustin' 'im for th' mere fact that he happens t' be a fox." Illia remarked, folding her arms crossly. "Ooh, it annoys me that there are Redwallers that are sworn t' live peaceful lives in this abbey are goin' out of there way t' try an' make life for that fox miserable."

"How?" Tobias asked, not understanding. "The abbot won't let anybeast get near him without his authorization."

"They don't 'ave t', their talkin' behind the poor fox's back is sufficient enough. I mean, I can understand creatures 'ere 'avin' a poor opinion o' 'im, but really, this is uncalled for."

Rowe nodded in a mild agreement with Illia, then pushed off the parapet and headed for the stairs. "I'm going to talk to him." he remarked aloud to no one in particular.

"Wot about, Skip?" Tobias asked curiously as he and Illia watched the Skipper of Otters walk off.

"I'll think of somethin'!" Rowe promised without looking back as he headed towards the abbey's central building.

* * *

Kani sat in a chair, the only one in the sparsely furnished dormitory that had been provided for his use, and peered sadly out the window at nothing particular. He was forced to admit that even in the heat of the afternoon sun, as spring slowly transformed into summer, Mossflower Woods was a beautiful country, and it really did deserve the peaceful name it had earned for itself. He thought it was a pity that it was currently spoiled by the exploits of these so-called "Followers of Gemini", whatever that meant.

Kani had to pity the Redwallers for their plight, and when he saw how few their numbers were in comparison to that of the Quorum of Warriors, he really wished there was something he could do to help. Though, as amazing as it seemed, the Redwallers seemed to getting along fine as is, for they had managed to survive this long. And besides, Kani was just one creature. What could he alone do to help the Redwallers except give them one more mouth to feed? He felt just about as useful here as he had felt back in Angola, shortly after Methusael's coup d'état and he realized just how massively he had been betrayed. There was little reason for him to be here.

So why _was _he still here? He had no reason to stay. He wasn't being forced to stay here, either. He was only here by invitation of the abbot, and by recommendation on the fact that trying to leave again would be risky with the Quorum of Warriors being around, willing to capture and possibly slay whomever they desired. But they didn't know Kani was even here. And the means of leaving Kani had in mind, through the same tunnel that had led him into the abbey, which would open up a long way away from the abbey _and _the forces that besieged it. Kani was confident he could leave again just as undetected as he had come.

But...then what? The only place he'd have left to go is back to Angola, and seeing that he hadn't gotten what he had hoped to get, which was help to overthrow Methusael, that was, as much as he hated to admit it, almost pointless. But there was little point in staying here at Redwall as well, especially seeing that he wasn't very welcome here.

And yet...something was compelling him to stay. Some reason unbeknownst to him that didn't want him to leave. Like there was something left for him to do, or to wait for. And it was here, and only here, and no where else. He couldn't explain it. But Kani had, against his better judgement, stayed. And now he was waiting to see the outcomes of that choice.

There was a sudden knock upon his door. Kani turned to look at it, sighed, then called out, "Come in."

The door opened a crack, and Rowe peered inside. "Can...I come in?" he asked hesitantly.

Kani blinked, then nodded. Rowe let himself in, closing the door behind him, but stayed at the door, looking as if he felt it would be unnecessary to encroach further into the room. Kani sought for a chair for the otter to sit in, but then remembered he was sitting in the only one, and stood up so to not be the only one sitting. They looked at each other awkwardly. Rowe had something in mind that he wanted to say before he entered, but the thought had since vanished, and Rowe was struggling to come up with a replacement. It didn't help that Kani was standing there quite politely, waiting for Rowe to say something. He looked oddly out of place in the room in Rowe's mind, but he thought that was just him, and decided it best not to point this out.

"Was there something you wanted, Master Rowe?" Kani asked politely after a moment.

"Uh, well, aye." Rowe finally managed to stutter out. "Sort of. Er, well, y'see, I came up t' talk, but uh...I don't know wot about yore lordship."

Kani sighed. "Well, you can start by not calling me 'your lordship', I had to tell Mathoni the same thing on our way here." he remarked, deciding that he'd rather be sitting for this anyway, and sat.

Rowe blinked. "Why not?" he asked after a momentary pause.

"I'm not the lord of anything at the moment, not with Methusael in charge in Angola." Kani muttered, resting his head in his paws. "Heaven only knows what he might be up to at the moment."

Rowe was silent for a moment. "How did he do it, anyway?" he asked hesitantly.

"Quite cleverly, though I should've seen it happening much sooner. But by the time I did...it was too late. Methusael had staged his coup and had seized control of the land, forcing me aside. He _tried _to have me killed, too."

"Like th' rest of yore family." Rowe noted unhelpfully.

Kani nodded mournfully. "I wish they were still alive." he murmured. "I could really use their support now. Especially from Hax. He's really the one who should've been ruling, though, even though he was younger by several seasons."

Rowe was silent for a long moment. "Y'know, I never met yore family when I was last in Angola." he commented finally, putting his paws behind his back. "But I heard a great deal about 'em from Mormon. He 'ad nothin' but good thing t' say 'bout ye."

Kani managed a grin at this. "I'm sure he did." he agreed.

"How did he die, anyway?"

"There had been a flu epidemic going around that winter. For most, it wasn't serious. I, for instance, had caught the illness for about a week, but recovered, and was none the worse, afterwards. However, Mormon, from what I was told, was much older, and the illness hit him much harder. After about a week of suffering...he finally passed on."

The two were silent, lost in their own thoughts. Rowe dwelled on the matter for awhile, inwardly feeling guilty that he hadn't been there at the time of his old friend's death. Kani, however, had moved on to other memories.

"That was the day Hax was murdered." he remarked without warning. "Stabbed in the chest in an alley, lured out there under the false pretense he was there to meet an ally. He had practically bled to death already by the time he was found...and he didn't have much longer to live after that. Mere moments. It...wasn't a peaceful death, either."

Rowe was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, yore lordship."

Kani didn't respond right away. "Hax wasn't even fully grown yet. He had his whole life ahead of him. He didn't deserve to die. Not then." his eyes narrowed darkly suddenly. "One day I'll slay the creature responsible for his death."

Rowe nodded, remembering Kani had already promised as such at the meeting earlier that morning. "You two were close...weren't ye?"

Kani didn't answer. He didn't really see a need to in this instance.

"Y'know, Mormon was of th' opinion ye'd both be great and fair rulers one day." Rowe continued. "Granted, ye were both younger back then. I think...if I remember wot Mormon told me correctly, Hax was barely nine seasons, while you were in yore teens, yore lordship. But...Mormon knew then ye were both destined for great things." he paused. "Or so he said."

"Obviously it didn't work out like that." Kani muttered. He snorted. "Almost ironic, too, because it was because of Mormon that the Angolian rebellion amongst the mice arose."

Rowe blinked. "Rebellion? Started by Mormon?"

"Apparently so. On his deathbed, he encouraged his son, Moroni, to rebel against the royal family, and fight for freedom. Moroni, being the loyal son he is, obeyed, although at the time he didn't really understand why at the time, as times were still peaceful then." Kani sighed. "Later we discovered that somehow, through means we never learned, and probably never will, Mormon had found out about Methusael's plans to overthrow my family, and his solution was to get his son to start a rebellion. Which actually did help. Why he didn't just _tell _Moroni what was going on, though, I'll never know."

"Mormon was a very wise mouse." Rowe remarked. "I'm sure he had a better understanding of the situation than either of us can give him credit for."

"Probably." Kani's ears drooped. "Still didn't change what happened."

"It got ye 'ere, though, didn't it?"

Kani perked up at this thought. "It _was _the rebellion that helped save my life, and enabled Mathoni and I to escape Methusael's forces guarding the land and come here for help." he admitted, seeing that Rowe had a very good point. "So maybe there _was _a method to Mormon's peculiar instructions."

"To get ye 'ere."

"But...why? Why do I need to be here?"

Rowe thought about it for a moment. "I think that's just somethin' ye're goin' t' 'ave t' figure out yoreself, yore lordship." he remarked finally.


	47. Chapter 46

And another Redwall chapter, but while it might seem fillerish...I can assure that it's not, and it'll come apparent by the end of the chapter. Beyond that, I'm giving no clues as to what this chapter's about, so to surprise you. ;)

Chapter 46

The day dragged on at Redwall, and save for the arrival of Kani and Mathoni and the conversations that brought, the day was remarkably uneventful. Which was surprising to creatures such as Skipper Rowe, who began to watch the forces of Gemini gathered around the abbey closer and closer as the day went on.

It seemed natural now that the enemy army attacked only at night, for that was all they had done thus far. Perhaps they expected to get more of an advantage that way. However, the Redwallers had continued to prove that they could hold their ground (albeit just barely) so Rowe kept expecting the army to switch tactics, and try something new. Attacking during the day would be one such thing.

But they hadn't. And as the day rolled on and the sun started to sink towards the west, they still hadn't attacked. They had clearly changed tactics regardless, but they had gone from the offensive to more defensive, staying on their guard, but settling down like they planned to stay, milling about in almost boredom. It wasn't at all what Rowe had been expecting, and he wondered what they were up to now.

"Don't seem t' be in much of a 'urry t' slay us all anymore." Rowe mumbled aloud as the night patrols on the walls began that evening. "Really wound down...like they've lost all motive t' fight."

Tobias, who sat nearby eating an apple, looked up at the Skipper of Otters. "That's odd." he remarked. "Ye'd think it'd be th' other way 'round, at least, from their point o' view, at least."

"Aye, but..." Rowe shrugged and threw a paw out at the army, having no better way of explaining it, "...there they are."

The two otters were quiet for a few moments.

"Think they're tryin' t' pull a fast 'un on us again?" Tobias finally commented. "They've tried t' catch us off guard afore. Like th' element of surprise, that lot."

"No, this is different." Rowe disagreed, shaking his head. "I don't know wot they're doin', but I don't think they plan on even _tryin'_ t' attack t'night."

"Now that _is _odd." Tobias agreed. "Why do ye think they're bein' like that? They still completely 'ave th' advantage over us."

"I've wondered if they plan on layin' siege t' us, tryin' t' starve us out or summat like that." Rowe thought.

"Then they're wastin' their time, we've got a whole orchard an' gardens aplenty in 'ere, they ain't goin' t' be starvin' us any time soon."

"That's wot gets me. It just doesn't make sense." Rowe stared out at the opposing army for a long moment. "I wonder if we somehow struck 'em a harder blow than we thought durin' our last attack."

Tobias snorted at the idea. "Hardly." he said. "No offense, Skip, but th' only real blow we gave 'em last night was injurin' their commander lady. An' that didn't do much, 'cause she's still alive an' kickin'...saw her wanderin' 'round earlier t'day. One of her arm's all bandaged up, but beyond that, she's capable."

"It's the only explanation that I can think of, though." Rowe said.

Tobias stood up and turned to look out at the army with him. He frowned. "But then...why are they lettin' that stop 'em?"

"I wish I knew, Tobias."

* * *

Unlike Kani, who was still all but shunned by the rest of the Redwallers, Mathoni was given a fairly warm welcome back to Redwall, although he was still criticized by some as to why he brought a fox back with him. It wasn't quite the warm welcome he had been expecting (with cheering, applauding, and a feast or two held in his honor) but he did get several claps on the back, warm welcomes, some congratulation, a 'glad you're back', several Dibbuns who wanted to hear the tale of his journey (though somehow they already knew all the basics about it, like someone had told them it all already. If so, the creature who had told them exaggerated the details here and there), and an apology from the abbot that things were the way they were, which Mathoni was understanding about, of course.

The young otter spent most of the rest of his day getting himself settled back in at the abbey, taking a swim in the abbey pond (which he had missed), getting reacquainted with friends, and swapping stories, finding out what had happened while he was gone in detail, while giving the details of his own adventure back to them. As the day drew to a close, however, a tired Mathoni was heading up to his dormitory to go to bed.

On his way, he crossed paths with Malachi, who was carrying a wooden crate that looked heavy. "Evenin' Malachi." Mathoni greeted the hare as they crossed paths in the hallway.

Malachi adjusted the crate to look at the passing otter, his face brightened with relief. "Mathoni!" he exclaimed happily, quickly turning to face him, "Great! You can lend me a paw with this bloomin' box!"

And with that, he shoved one end of the wood crate into Mathoni's paws, who, caught a little off guard, fumbled to get a good handhold. It was very heavy.

"Um...all right." Mathoni said hesitantly as he helped. "Where to?"

"Charles's dormitory." Malachi explained as they started marching back down the hall, box in tow. "Though why he wants this lot..."

Mathoni peered into the crate, and saw it was filled with metal rods with unusually slender arrowheads placed on their tips. He frowned at the sight of them. "Dare I ask why he wants _these_, mate?"

Malachi bit his lip. "You've heard wot's up with Charles by now, haven't you?" he asked hesitantly.

"The basics at th' very least. Everyone's been praisin' him as a hero."

"Yes, well, Charles currently considers himself t' be everythin' _but _that."

"So I 'eard. Though why he thinks that..."

"You haven't been through wot's he's been through, Mathoni." Malachi said, glancing back at the otter assisting him with a downhearted expression. "He's seen or understood something that we haven't. And...well...you'll see wot I mean in a moment. And I should warn you...it might be a bit of a shock for you."

Mathoni didn't really think that was true. But, when they entered the mouse's dormitory, and he saw Charles hard at work at something, a determined expression at his face, he wondered if he needed to revise that opinion.

"Charles, here are the arrows you wanted." Malachi remarked as they carried the crate over to the table the mouse was working at. "Went out and looked all over the grounds for these arrows."

"Thank you." Charles said curtly, and set to work, taking the expended arrows and went about straightening them, sharpening them, whatever he needed to so they could be used again. He otherwise ignored the hare and the otter, both of which watched the mouse in curiosity.

Mathoni spied the repeating crossbow that would be making use of these arrows and realized with a start what Charles planned to do. "Ye goin' on a vendetta, Charles?" he asked hesitantly and carefully.

Charles paused, and glanced at the otter with narrowed eyes for a moment. "I don't want to." he admitted, getting back to work. "But if it comes to it...I want to be ready."

"At least this is a step up from before, where he didn't want t' do anythin'." Malachi remarked to Mathoni briefly. "Too distraught, y'see."

Mathoni looked at Malachi for a moment, then back at Charles, putting two with two. "Charles, if ye're blaming yoreself for wot happened..."

"I _am _blaming myself for what happened!" Charles snapped without looking up. "But it doesn't matter. Not now. This is the fate I'm apparently chosen, too late to go back now, whether I like it or not. Besides, justice needs to served."

Mathoni was taken aback. Malachi was right to warn him. This _wasn't _the same mild-mannered Charles he had known before. "Charles, wot 'appened t' ye?" he remarked aloud in shock.

Charles loaded the crossbow with the new arrows, and snapped it up, at the ready. "War is what happened, Mathoni." he replied darkly.

A moment of silence fell. Malachi nervously shifted positions.

"Can we change the subject?" he finally asked tentatively. "This one is too touchy for my likin'."

"Hello Mathoni, welcome back." Charles remarked instantly, a bit coldly. "Did you have a good trip?"

"Er..." Mathoni wasn't quite sure how to respond. "Well...I'm alive."

"He brought a bloomin' fox back with him, too." Malachi added unnecessarily.

"Yes, Kani Fennix." Charles responded instantly as he continued to work. "I've heard all about him already." he dropped the subject there, not elaborating further on the matter, nor giving any insight on what he thought about the matter, which Mathoni was kind of hoping he would.

Another moment of silence fell, in which Mathoni debated whether or not he should stick around any longer. He was just about to come to a decision, when a sparrow suddenly flapped through the open window that sat above the table Charles worked at and perched on the sill. It instantly began speaking in Sparra to Charles, Charles instantly began speaking back in Sparra, and Mathoni instantly recognized the sparrow.

"Blackwing!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Blackwing blinked in surprise and glanced at Mathoni, seeing him for the first time. "Otterworm Mathoni!" the bird declared in surprise. "You return to mouseworm abbey!" it tilted it's head at the otter. "You bring sweetnuts?"

Mathoni threw his paws into the air. "Hello to you too, Blackwing." he remarked a little sarcastically.

Malachi was looking between the bird, Charles, and Mathoni in surprise. "Wait," he said, turning to Mathoni, "You know the sparrow too?"

"Aye, me an' Blackwing go _way _back." Mathoni responded. "Blackwing didn't like t' socialize much with other Redwallers, though." he glanced at Charles. "Which makes me surprised he apparently knows ye, Charles."

Charles didn't reply right away. "Blackwing has been of help since Alexander was kidnaped." He said. "He was the one who alerted us of the situation, and gave us clues to indicate that the Quorum of Warriors would soon be coming, though we didn't know what it all meant then."

"Sparra not fault, not know badworms come." Blackwing retorted.

"Right, I'd have been surprised if ye 'ad." Mathoni remarked without much thinking.

Malachi gaped at him. "_You _can understand that bloomin' bird too?"

"Aye, just barely, never could figure out how t' speak th' language like Charles apparently can, though." Mathoni remarked, giving Charles another look. "How long did it take ye t' do that?"

Charles didn't reply, so Malachi did. "He was speaking the language almost instantly!" he declared to Mathoni.

Mathoni's eyes went wide, and looked at Charles with even more shock now. Charles, however, ignored the discussion, and gave a whispered a reply to Blackwing in Sparra that Mathoni couldn't quite make out. Blackwing nodded, and flapped back out the window.

"Wot?" Mathoni asked, curious now. "Wot was that about? Where's Blackwing goin'? Wot are ye havin' him do, Charles?"

Charles didn't reply right away. Silently, he glanced back at Mathoni. "We'll see how things turn out first, Mathoni." he replied simply.

* * *

In his study, Abbot Isaiah was troubled.

It was clear to the only other creature present, too.

"You have little reason to be concerned, old friend." Martin assured the abbot from where he stood behind him. "He will not cause trouble."

Isaiah glanced away from the window he was looking through at Martin's form, managed a light smile. "Can read my thoughts, can you?"

"What, you're only figuring this out now?"

Isaiah's grin grew bigger still at Martin's innocent jibe. "Actually, I feel I have little to worry about from Kani." he said, his thoughts indeed thinking somewhat about the fox. "However, I have other things to worry about that are more important than a fox this abbey hasn't been very welcoming to, unfortunately."

"I know." Martin seemed a little disappointed. "Sad that some of the creatures here can't see past their own snouts." he brightened slightly. "At least I don't have that problem with you, Isaiah. You trust him."

"You've helped with that, though." Isaiah pointed out. "But you are right, Kani tells the truth, and wishes to do no harm here. He is like us, actually. Merely looking for help to return his life to the peace it once knew." he sighed, staring out the window at the encamped Quorum of Warriors outside the abbey's walls. "What are we going to do about those foes of ours, anyway, Martin? We aren't likely to withstand many more of their attacks."

"You won't have to."

Isaiah looked hopefully at Martin. "The end of this conflict is in sight, then?" he remarked.

Martin shirked the question, and changed the subject. "I've actually been doing some thinking." he said. "It may seem like an odd time to bring up the matter, but it's time something was done here."

"Such as?"

"Well, Redwall, I believe, could use a warrior, could it not?"

Isaiah blinked in surprise. "You mean the time has come to select a warrior of Redwall?" he asked, again his hopes rising.

"Yes."

"Who?"

Martin paused for a moment. It was clear that he was debating how to answer the question. "Retrieve my sword from where it currently rests, first." he instructed gently. "As for the creature to be the warrior...I believe I will simply say that you will know who it is when you find this creature."

Isaiah furrowed his brow, and broke his gaze on Martin for a moment to digest this new information. When he looked up again, Martin was gone, telling him that Martin wasn't going to be more forthcoming on the matter. Somehow, he wasn't surprised. Martin was usually like this, and the history books had recorded as such. With a sigh, the elderly abbot rose, and proceeded out of his room. Might as well do as Martin had instructed.

* * *

When he arrived in Great Hall to retrieve the sword from where it hung above the tapestry, however, Isaiah was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a creature already in the room, peering intently at the tapestry itself, studying it. Isaiah took a few steps towards him, then stopped, silently watching the creature for a few moments.

"Fascinating piece of work, isn't it?" he finally remarked.

Startled, Kani turned in surprise to face the abbot. "Oh, Father Abbot, I didn't hear you enter. Sorry if I'm intruding or anything." he remarked. He paused, then glanced back at the tapestry. When the abbot stayed silent, Kani finally nodded. "Yes." he said, answering the question. "It is quite fascinating, in addition to being beautiful." he gazed at the tapestry for several long moments while Isaiah hobbled up to stand beside him. "How long did it take to create it?" he asked.

"Untold seasons." Isaiah replied. "We still add to it today, in fact. You see, the tapestry records Redwall's ongoing history. Many of the major events that have ever occurred at this abbey are made manifest on it at some point, even if briefly." he tapped his cane on the bottom corner of the portion they were looking at, however. "It is this part that is the oldest and garners most of one's attention however, as it all began here."

"With him, then?" Kani asked, pointing at the mouse that was portrayed in the tapestry.

"Yes." Isaiah said, gazing at the mouse. "Martin the Warrior. He founded our order. As well as help design and build Redwall Abbey. He also helped bring peace to our land."

"Busy creature, then." Kani said, studying the facsimile of the warrior mouse. "He was truly a warrior, then."

"Only because the situation demanded it, though." Isaiah remarked. "Martin preferred peace over bloodshed. He did not typically go looking for fights. After Redwall was built, in fact, he sought to help other creatures, to help make they led peaceful and happy lives, and lived together in peace. It is upon these principles that Redwall operates upon." he was silent for a moment, before he added on a whim, "It is believed that Martin's spirit continues to guide the inhabitants of Redwall towards that goal today."

If Kani found this odd, he did not show it. He ran a paw over the tapestry, feeling the multicolored threads that made up Martin's image.

"He reminds me of Hax." he said softly, lost in thought. "Hax, in many ways, believed in the same things. He felt peace should always come before war."

Isaiah did not respond to this, allowing Kani to dwell on the subject at his own speed. Kani continued to stare at the tapestry for a few moments, then hung his head. "Hax." he murmured. He sighed. "You died long before your time, brother." He inhaled sharply, and shook himself, taking a step back from the tapestry. "Anyway," he began, changing the subject, "Sorry, Father Abbot, if I'm intruding or anything of the such by being here."

"Not at all." Isaiah said softly. "You are most welcome to be here, Lord Kani."

"Most of the creatures here wouldn't agree with you on that matter, however." Kani pointed out. "They don't like the idea of a fox being in their abbey."

"Codswallop." Isaiah remarked. "Any creature that is in need of assistance in this abbey, and does not seek to cause us harm, is to be welcomed here, woodlander or vermin." he paused, then added, "if you will excuse the term, your lordship."

"No offense taken."

"The creatures in this abbey are merely acting rash. They aren't used to the idea of a fox residing in these walls, because seldom has that ever happened in the course of this abbey's history. Merely give them a chance to adjust to the idea. Eventually, they'll come to see who you really are, Kani."

Kani grinned sadly. "Unfortunately, Father Abbot, I don't plan to stay that much longer." he said. "I think there's little reason for me to stay here any longer, and I am merely taking up room, the last thing you need given your current situation. I believe I will leave tomorrow morning, and take my chances."

Isaiah nodded in understanding. "Very well, that is your choice." he said. "Again, I am sorry we were not of more assistance to you." he paused. "Will you be returning to Angola, then?"

Kani hesitated. "I don't know." he admitted. "I failed to get what I came for, after all." he bowed his head again. "Little reason for me to return to a land I can't help." he frowned. "I'm the rightful lord of Angola, and I can't do a thing to help them."

Isaiah was silent for a moment. "Perhaps there is a way, you simply haven't discovered it." he said, then sighed. "Or perhaps it was simply meant to be this way, Lord Kani. Everything has a reason for happening."

"Even if they aren't known." Kani agreed, looking up and turning back to face the tapestry. "That's why I came down here. It was suggested to me today that perhaps there was a reason this all happened. That I ended up here for a reason." he hesitated. "I must admit, my instincts suggest that I am correct." he furrowed his brow and glanced at the abbot. "But...what could those reasons be?"

Isaiah, intrigued by the idea, paused to give the matter some thought. Eventually, he decided to leave the question unanswered. "Only time will tell, Lord Kani." he said. He grinned. "Now, as for the reason _I'm _here." he pointed up at the sword that hung above the tapestry with one claw. "I came to retrieve that blade."

"Oh, well, let me help you, then." Kani said, and carefully reached up and gently lowered the blade from it's hook and brought it down from it's perch. Once the blade was in his paws, he couldn't help but admire it. "It's a beautiful sword."

"It was Martin's." Isaiah remarked with a hint of pride.

Kani blinked. "Really?" he remarked. "Then this sword must be very ancient." he looked it up and down with a furrowed brow. "Yet, I would have never guessed it was so old. It looks like it could have been smithed just yesterday."

"That is what is so unique about Martin's sword." Isaiah explained, holding out his paws as Kani handed it to him. "It never seems to age. The creature who created it did their job well." he grinned as he looked at his reflection in the deadly blade. "However, I did not come here to marvel at it's beauty, weapon that it is, nor wonder at it's age."

"Why do you want that sword, Father Abbot, if I may ask?" Kani asked, curious.

"You may." Isaiah replied, and thought for a moment how he should explain this. "When a time arises at this abbey that a warrior is required to defend it, the chosen warrior bears this blade. It is said that Martin himself chooses the warrior, as a creature to...sort of...stand in for him."

What he didn't say was how true that statement was.

Kani gazed at the blade for a moment, not entirely sure what to say next. "It must be quite an honor for that creature." he remarked finally. He glanced at the abbot. "Who's the warrior-to-be?"

Isaiah hesitated. "I...don't know yet." he admitted. "But given the circumstances..."

Kani nodded in silent agreement. "Well, whoever it is, I'm sure the creature picked will be the right one, ready to use it to stand for the same things Martin apparently stood for." he paused. "Heaven only knows that not enough creatures are like that." a pause, then he turned to leave. "Well, good evening Father Abbot."

"Good evening, Lord Kani." Isaiah said, and he, too, turned to leave, with the sword in tow.

He hadn't gone far before he paused, a thought suddenly coming to him. He then had to withhold a grin. Quickly, he turned back. "Uh, Kani, one more thing." he said, grabbing Kani's attention, and making the fox pause. "Did you have a weapon when you arrived at Redwall?"

"Uh, no." Kani replied, a little puzzled. "The only weapons Mathoni and I had was his staff that he had brought with him, and a dagger we managed to swipe off of a mercenary that was chasing us." he paused, turning to face the abbot fully. "Why? Are you saying you're willing to offer a weapon to me?"

"Yes, I am." Isaiah said, stepping back over to Kani. He paused, glancing down at the sword of Martin in his paws, then pressed it into Kani's. "I believe this one will suffice."


	48. Chapter 47

Picking up from where last chapter left off, showing Kani's reaction to all of this. Actually, I'm not very happy with this chapter, particularly the latter part of it. I got off on a real tangent with that last part, and ended up addressing some very interesting topics that was fun to speculate upon, but unfortunately had little of anything to do with the story. Went back and edited out most of that, and the end result is better...but still not quite what I was hoping for in regards of what I was picturing. :|

Chapter 47

For the longest moment, Kani wasn't sure how to react, so he really didn't, merely stood there and stared at the blade Abbot Isaiah had pressed into his paws. He felt an overwhelming feeling of puzzlement sweep over him, not understanding. When the abbot had brought up the subject of weapons, Kani hadn't thought much about it. He had merely suspected he'd be given a weapon he could take for his journey to...wherever it was he decided to go. A weapon they had plenty of spares lying around to use and that they could allow Kani to take one and keep.

But not this. He wasn't expecting this. At all.

"Father Abbot..." he began upon momentarily finding his voice, "...I...I don't know what to say."

"A 'thank you' would suffice." Isaiah responded candidly.

Kani wasn't entirely sure he should be thanking anyone just yet. He stared at the sword in his paws, and continued to feel guilty holding it. Because he shouldn't be. And worse still, was the fact that the abbot was looking at him expectantly, perhaps expecting an acknowledgment of accepting the sword.

Which Kani couldn't do.

"I'm sorry Father Abbot, but...there must be some mistake." Kani protested, trying to press the sword back into the abbot's paws.

Isaiah merely pressed it back. "There is no mistake." he persisted.

"Father Abbot, may I be blunt?"

"Certainly."

"Okay then. Is this some kind of joke?"

Isaiah blinked, and seemed taken aback. Kani's eyes narrowed as he grew frustrated, and Isaiah looked apprehensively at the fox.

"I must admit, this was not the reaction I was expecting." he finally admitted, to Kani further annoyance. "Granted, though, this must come as a shock..."

"Shock doesn't begin to describe it!" Kani snapped, again trying to press the sword into the abbot's paws, only to have it pressed back. "If you think that by just giving me that sword that I'll solve all of _your _problems when I have a multitude of my own to worry about..."

"I have suggested nothing of the sort."

"It's what you _expect _of me, though, and I'm not going for it!"

"Kani..."

"Father Abbot, _listen to ME_! This isn't right!"

The interchanging of the sword continued, having risen in force to shoving. Sooner or later, if this continued, someone was going to get hurt. Thankfully, it never came to that, when Kani shoved the sword into the abbot's paws and before Isaiah could press the sword back into the fox's paws, pulled his paws away. This ended up with the sword falling to the stone floor of the hall with a loud and startling clatter. They both looked down at the blade for a long moment, then at each other. Though he didn't outright show it, Kani saw that Isaiah's eyes looked slightly hurt, and his anger suddenly melted. Realizing he had been chewing out one of the few creatures in the whole abbey that had ever been kind to him, the fox bowed his head in shame.

"Sorry." he mumbled in apology.

"It's quite all right, Kani, I suppose I should've foreseen this." Isaiah remarked as he bent creakily down to retrieve the sword. "If anything, this is my fault, for dropping this on you so suddenly."

Kani shook his head at this, brow furrowed. "Why me?" he finally asked. "Why not some other creature?"

Isaiah hesitated. "I...I don't know if I can explain it." he admitted finally. "It just seems..._right_ to me."

"Well, it doesn't to me!" Kani responded, turning away, head still bowed as if in shame. "Don't...don't I get some say in this matter? Can I not turn down the offer?"

Isaiah blinked again. "No one, to my recollection, ever has." he admitted.

"Guess I'll be the first, then." Kani said, glancing back at the abbot. "Because...I can't accept that sword, Father Abbot, I just can't. It's...it's not right."

He started to walk away, but Isaiah followed him.

"Kani, I don't why and for what reasons you are to be the next warrior, but...that's what has happened." the elderly mouse said as he hobbled after the fox.

Kani paused, and sighed, leaning against the nearby wall. "You already talk about it like it's predestined." he commented, sounding suddenly tired. "Like it's my fate."

"How do you know it's not?"

Now it was Kani's turn to blink. "I suppose I don't." he admitted, then quickly added, "But that doesn't mean anything. Fate isn't predetermined...is it? And anyway, I'm of royal blood, _my _fate is to go home and rule my land in peace. But you...you...Father Abbot, I'm not even a member of your order. I don't _belong _here in Redwall."

"Being a Redwaller is not a prerequisite for being it's warrior, Kani." Isaiah answered cooly. "There have been many that have come here, like you, for other reasons, such as seeking help to save a homeland or their cultures. Part of the reason why I know it's you is because of this."

"Why _do _you think it's supposed to be me, anyway?" Kani asked, glancing at him.

Isaiah again hesitated, knowing what Kani's reaction would be to this. "I just know." he replied finally. "Martin said in advance that I would."

"Martin?" Kani repeated in surprise. "As in that mouse on the tapestry?" he motioned to the fabric hanging beside them still, "You've _seen _him? _Spoken _to him?"

Isaiah hesitated for a third time. "Yes." he finally replied truthfully.

Kani had no response to that, and merely threw his paws into the air, again turning his back to the abbot.

"I know what it seems like, Kani, but it is true." Isaiah pressed. "Furthermore, I am convinced that Martin for some reason wants you to be the next warrior of Redwall."

"Well, I'm not." Kani said, and glanced without turning to look back at the abbot. "Setting the whole Martin business aside for a moment, I want to stress that I'm not a warrior. Of anything. Granted, I have the training, I _can _fight, but...Father Abbot, all I want is peace, not to spill blood by my own paws."

"So did Martin." Isaiah stated pointedly.

Kani had nothing to counter that argument. "I...I just don't have the spirit for the task, Father Abbot." he said. "I...I...don't have the heart."

"On this, we disagree." Isaiah stepped closer to him. "Kani, you're not giving yourself enough credit. From the moment you arrived here, you have been more worried about the well-being of others over your own. Whether it be Mathoni, your followers in Angola, or even us Redwallers, despite the less-than-warm welcoming we have given you. You, Kani, are a creature who seeks peace, and are willing to go to great lengths to do it. The very fact you are here, so far from your homeland on the slim chance you might be able to find help, attests to this. You don't allow the world to try and change you, you try and _make _those changes to the world. You already _have _that spirit you speak of, Kani." Isaiah trailed off for a moment. "I just wish I could make you see it."

"But I _don't _see it, and I don't think I ever will." Kani remarked, scowling, but inwardly flattered by the abbot's words. "All I think of when you say those things...is of Hax." he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "He would be the creature you'd want."

"Unfortunately, your brother is not here to take on the role, Kani." Isaiah replied softly, gently.

"Yes," Kani said, even more softly, tearing up as he looked heavenward for more strength, "please don't remind me."

"I won't." Isaiah promised. "But my point is that of all the creatures in this abbey who could wield this blade..." he glanced down at the sword of Martin for a moment, "...I believe you to be the one to do it."

"But _why_?" Kani repeated, wiping his eyes with the back of his paw. "Why me over any number of just as equally worthy creatures? Plagues and pestilence, there are probably more even more worthy than I ever possibly could! Like Mathoni, he'd be a great warrior one day!"

"I concur, but that day hasn't come, it's too soon for him." Isaiah remarked. "Mathoni doesn't yet fully understand the cruelties of war. And there are others, such as Charles, but Charles has come to understand war _too_ well, and is nearly being torn apart because of it. A sword is not his weapon of choice, anyway. Skipper Rowe already has duties of his own as Skipper of Otters. Tobias and Illia would be willing, but would fail to see the full magnitude of the honor, and as they are twins, would expect their sibling to receive an equal part of the honor as the other, and as there is only one sword, this would be difficult. The rest of us are Redwallers at heart. We will fight to protect our home, but we are not warriors, not in heart, mind, nor spirit. We heal and support creatures, not cut them down. There is no one else, but you, Lord Kani."

"I'm not a lord of anything at the moment, and I won't ever _be _if I accept that sword, and I think you know that, Father Abbot." Kani argued. "And besides, just because _I'm _selected through the process of elimination..."

"But there's more to it than that, Kani, and I wish I could accurately explain it to you." Isaiah interrupted, almost pleading. "I can just sense that you _are _the creature to carry, handle, and wield this sword."

He again held the sword out to Kani, offering it to the fox. Kani turned to look at it, clearly hesitant.

"You do realize," he said, having one more point to raise, "that if I accept that sword, and take on this mantle of Martin, so to speak, that you'll have a plethora of confused and probably angry Redwallers to contend with? They don't like me. They want to see me gone. They don't trust me, and would never entrust me with anything like that sword where the choice theirs. Giving me that sword would only cause more problems for Redwall, because of me. I couldn't handle the responsibility, and this abbey doesn't need that kind of internal strife, not at this time of crisis."

"Leave the Redwallers to me." Isaiah said. "I will handle them, one way or another. It should not be your place to worry so much about what others think of you, anyway, Kani. You merely need to worry about your duties, whatever they might be."

Kani was silent for a long moment, and stared at the proffered sword during that moment. He reached forward hesitantly with his paws to the deadly object, looking as if he was going to accept it, but then at the last moment, withdrew his claws, motioned silently to Isaiah to keep the sword, and stepped back.

"No." he said, with finality. "I can't. I couldn't." he took another step back, and met the abbot's gaze, looking saddened. "I'm sorry, Father Abbot."

He then turned and fled, keeping his pace to a brisk walk, but it was clear he wanted to put this all behind him as quickly as possible, leaving Isaiah standing there, holding the sword, wondering what to do now.

* * *

It was very late now at Redwall, and it seemed that everyone inside the building had long since gone to sleep, save for the abbot, and Kani. Kani hardly noticed, and with his mind spinning as it was with what had happened just now in Great Hall, it was understandable. Quickly and briskly, half-worried that the abbot would follow him, Kani moved through the dark and/or dimly lit hallways to the dormitory that had been provided to him for his use. Stumbling into the little room through it's doorway, he quickly closed and latched it behind him, turning back around to stare at it.

Again, he expected the abbot, or somebody, to arrive at it and wish to enter, but no one came, and silence ruled in the dormitory, save for Kani's own heartbeat. His heart wasn't pumping furiously, but Kani was suddenly consciously aware of every pump it made, no matter how powerful it was. Darkness also ruled in the dormitory, which Kani realized suddenly with a start, and quickly grabbed a candle already in it's holder from a shelf and lit it.

Still, he stared at the door apprehensively. He was really expecting the abbot to come and press the matter further, but apparently the elderly mouse had decided not to, for everything was still beyond that closed door. Kani was semi-surprised, giving how much the abbot had been pressing the matter on him. He did it kindly, but he was still pressing the matter, and was doing it more than Kani was comfortable with.

Thinking the matter through again, Kani felt his head ache as it still tried to wrapped it itself around it. Warrior of Redwall? Him? The thought was boggling. Why him? He had nothing to do at all with Redwall. He only brought it more troubles by causing strife with his mere presence, and making the abbot at least feel obliged to give him shelter that they really couldn't afford to spare. He was only here by mere chance, anyway. Granted, it had been his idea to come here in seek of help to beat Methusael, but it was Mathoni's arrival in Angola that had given him the idea, and it was by chance that the young otter had arrived when he did, wasn't it?

And he didn't even plan on staying much longer anyway. Yet, the abbot suddenly got the idea that he'd like to be their warrior. In doing so, Kani would have to all but give up the life he had known and followed before now, and he couldn't do that. He belonged in Angola more than he had ever belonged in this abbey, and to leave and forget the land now would be abandoning it to its fate, and he couldn't do that.

Beside, he still had the deaths of his brother and mother to avenge, and regardless of whatever happened, he still fully planned on carrying that out.

And he planned to do it, no matter what the circumstance.

He just needed to figure out how.

He gave the door one final apprehensive look, then turned and in the darkness, stumbled over the chair that he had left standing at the window, falling to the floor. His candle landed upright beside him, wobbling on it's holder. It flickered, but remained alight. Kani sat up, rubbing at his head that he had bumped in his tumble. Thankfully, he hadn't bumped it very hard. It hurt, but that would soon pass. It hadn't even left a bump.

He retrieved the fallen candle and jumped back up, righting the chair he had stumbled over, and turned to face the window, suddenly realizing he wasn't alone anymore. For standing there, his silhouette cast mostly in darkness due to the moonlight streaming in through the window but was still clear enough to be seen, was another creature. Kani recognized the creature instantly, and stared at him, who stared back.

The fox continued rubbing his head, his eyes growing slightly wide. "I must have hit my head harder than I thought." he murmured aloud.

Martin grinned at this. "And a good evening to you, too, Kani." he remarked.

Kani took a step back from the warrior mouse that he was confident was NOT there when he entered the room, and quickly used his candle to light the dormitory's hanging lantern, which provided much better light than the candle did. Even in the better lighting, however, Martin still stood there, as clear as day; clearer now, in fact, now that there was better lighting. He wore the typical warrior dress, but he lacked the sword. He looked like he had just stepped out of the tapestry in Great Hall.

Kani began backpeddling away from the mouse. "No." he murmured, a cross between shocked and frightened. "No, that can't be. You're dead."

"Yes, thank you for observing that." Martin remarked, still grinning. "I have my doubts sometimes."

Kani merely stared at him in response. Martin's smile faded and twisted into a frown.

"That was a joke, Kani." he stated.

Kani just kept backing up towards the door that just moments ago he had been so apprehensive of. "I must be hallucinating." he muttered breathlessly.

"I beg to differ, a hallucination and a vision are two entirely different things." Martin stated matter-of-factly, looked a little offended at the suggestion that he was naught but a hallucination.

"A vision." Kani repeated to himself, not feeling the least bit better about it. "O-okay, what do _you _want, then?"

"You already know what I want, Kani." Martin said, taking a step towards the fox. "I want you to accept the abbot's offer."

Kani took another step away from the mouse. "No." he pressed, gaining some of his confidence back. "No, I can't, I _won't_. I...I have nothing to do with this abbey. I owe it nothing, not like this, at least. There's no reason for me to be their warrior, to be their...their...figurehead, somebeast to turn to in hopes I'll solve all of their problems."

"It doesn't work like that, and you know that just as well as I, Kani." Martin remarked. "There's much more to being the warrior of Redwall than that, so very much more. You just need to _look _at it, to _see_ that it's there!"

Kani blinked. "So...so...that's it?" he muttered. "You can just decide that I get to be your little puppet, and that's it? I'm stuck with that fate?"

"In the game of life, Kani, fate plays by it's own rules." Martin said. "Fate is what has led you to this point, and it is fate that will lead you away from it again. There is more to this, so much more to this, than what meets the eye, Kani. There _is _a reason you've come here, and there _is _a reason why!"

"To be your stand-in as warrior." Kani reasoned.

"Yes!" Martin said. "But there's more than that! There's..."

"What about Angola?" Kani interrupted suddenly. "Assuming for a moment that I do this, which I'm not, by the way, but what would Angola's fate be? Are you saying that it _shouldn't _be saved from Methusael's grasp? That I should just ignore it, and leave it to it's fate?"

"There is more going on here, than just Angola, Kani. It's all interconnected. It was no accident that you ended up here when you did, nor for anything else."

"I fail to see how it all interconnects."

"That's because you only know half of the story. There is plenty that has yet to happen. And it all hinges upon you."

Kani frowned. "So, you know the future as well?"

"Yes, but we aren't here to discuss that."

"Why not? Seems to me it can't happen if I don't agree to do what you say."

"It'll happen no matter what, Kani, that's how destiny works."

"So I really _don't _have a choice in this, do I?"

"I didn't say that. You _do _have a choice, it's just...complicated."

"Then why are you allowed to do something like _this_?" Kani demanded. "What gives you the right?"

"Like I said, it's more complicated than that."

"So I just have to wordless follow what _you _tell me to do, regardless of what I think, simply because _you _think it's right?" Kani challenged. When Martin didn't respond right away, the fox shook his head as if in disgust and turned away. "You're no better than what I've heard of this Gemini fellow."

Martin's eyes narrowed dangerously at this. "Don't even go there." he said. "And I'm trying to explain things to you, but you, you aren't listening. You don't even _want _to listen."

"I certainly don't!" Kani remarked. "Do you not _realize _what I've been through? I've already have had enough manipulation from Methusael, trying to control my fate! Now I find out that _you _are trying to do the same thing! And I hate it! I've had enough manipulation! I want to control _my _life, and not have it controlled for me! I...I..." he sighed in frustration, glaring at Martin. "Just...leave me alone."

"Kani..." Martin said. "We're getting off topic."

No response from Kani.

"Look, I know what you've been through. I know what I'm asking of you is a lot. I know you don't want to be a part of it any longer...but you need to _listen_ to what I need to tell you. It's very important you know this, to know _why _this has all come about."

"What difference does it make?" Kani asked. "I've lost just about everything that really matters. My family, my home, everything."

"Just moments ago, you were convinced you could get that home back."

"And maybe I still can, assuming _you _let me." Kani retorted with a dark glare. "But my point is...I can't get it all back." a pause. "I can't ever get my family back."

"Your family wouldn't want you to dwell on that. They would want you to be ready to move on."

Kani began to tear up at the thought of his family, being stressed out as he was. "Let's not talk about them, please." he pleaded.

"They have had a word in all of this, you know, this is partly why this has all happened."

"Martin..."

"They are very proud of you Kani, but...they know why you're like this. The real reason."

"_Martin_..."

"Don't go blaming yourself for it. It wasn't your fault that they died. You couldn't have prevented it."

"SHUT UP!"

Kani suddenly threw the still-lit candle and it's holder that he still held in his paw at Martin. Proving that Martin at all wasn't really there, it merely flew through him like he was a ghost, and hit the wall behind him, extinguishing instantly. Martin glanced down at the spot the candle flew through his chest, unfazed, then back up at Kani, who was fuming.

"Don't tell me that." the fox growled. "Don't. I _could_ haveprevented their deaths. I could've prevented _all _of this! _IF _I was really the warrior you think I am." his anger suddenly vanished. "Clearly, I'm not." and with that, growing saddened again, he turned his back to Martin again. "Now go. Please. Just leave me alone."

Martin sighed. "I suspected it would come to this." he murmured, more to himself than anything. "Fortunately, I thought ahead."

"Just go, Martin, I don't want to listen to you anymore."

"Then you don't have to, Kani." a new voice suddenly spoke.

Kani instantly froze upon hearing the voice.

He recognized it.

He knew it well.

Even after all of this time.

He almost didn't dare believe it, almost didn't have the nerve to turn around.

But he did, turning to look at the new figure that now stood beside Martin. He was taller than Martin, but was merely due to the difference in species. The new figure was so very much younger than Martin. His expression was also much softer than Martin's, with a more than noticeable glint of caring love in his eyes. He wasn't a day older than Kani remembered him, and looked as healthy as he could have ever been.

And he was standing there before him now.

Kani's heart melted. "Hax." he murmured.


	49. Chapter 48

And moving on again, picking up from where the last chapter left off, again. Unlike last chapter, which didn't quite where I had hoped, this chapter turned out much better, and ended up exactly where and how I wanted it. :D So, enjoy it. Just so y'all are still in the loop, we're probably going to have a few more Redwall chapters, then we'll have a series of Alexander-centric chapters, followed by a series of Angola chapters. :)

Chapter 48

Kani stared at his younger brother, a brother he knew to be dead, having been brutally murdered...but was standing here before him now, looking totally alive. Hax looked back, in no hurry to continue the conversation Martin and Kani had been engaged in. Hax knew that the next move should be left up to his elder brother.

Kani, however, didn't have the foggiest idea _what _to do now, how he should react to Hax's presence. His first instinct was to try and touch Hax, prove that he was really there, and then give his younger brother a well-deserved hug. But he knew he couldn't, remembering earlier when he had hurled the candle holder at Martin. It hadn't hit him; he was completely intangible to physical touch. And Hax, like Martin, was only here in spirit as well.

The thought that he could see his brother, speak with his brother, but otherwise be completely incapable of interacting with him merely worked to serve as a cruel reminder that his brother was very much dead.

Save for his spirit. That much had clearly survived, though how it was done and why, Kani felt he would never understand in his lifetime.

The two continued to stare at each other. This simple act almost seemed to be enough, almost seemed to convey enough, that Kani suddenly felt much more at peace about the whole matter that had led to this. So engrossed in this action as he was, Kani had managed to miss, while he wasn't looking, Martin's departure. Kani simply realized that at one moment, Martin was there, and then the next, he wasn't. Kani couldn't remember when and how exactly Martin had left, but to him, it didn't matter.

He shook his head, staring still. "Hax." he repeated again, stunned.

Hax managed a grin. "Hello again, brother." he greeted kindly.

Kani made a noise that was somewhere between a chuckle and a sob. He was silent for a moment as he worked to hold back the tears that had sudden welled up in his eyes. Sniffling, he looked back at his brother, and sought something to say. In doing so, he suddenly made a connection.

"It was you." he murmured aloud. "It was you that was in those dreams that I was having, back in Angola, at the time of Methusael's coup, telling me to leave."

Hax nodded, and did not try to deny it. He had no reason to. "Yes." he replied simply.

Kani mused about all of this for a moment, then allowed his brow to furrow in confusion. Sniffling again, he shook his head as he sat down upon the bed. "Why, Hax?" he finally asked.

"Because, Kani, you were the one who was chosen." Hax replied simply. "There is no creature more suited for the responsibility than you."

"But that's just it!" Kani retorted, but he did it more gently than he would've to anyone else. "Why am I the one that's so suited for this? I'm not a warrior, I never have been."

"That depends upon on how you define the word 'warrior.'" Hax said. "Kani, you keep looking at it in terms of warfare, with the killing and bloodshed, a matter I don't at all blame you for not wanting to dirty your paws with. I, however, am looking at it in terms of courage. Loyalty. And an understanding of what is right, and what is wrong." he paused, letting this sink in for a moment. "You have these traits, Kani. Can't you see that?"

Kani thought about the matter for a very long moment, giving it more thought than he had for Martin, or the abbot. "I suppose." he admitted. "It took a bit of courage to get to Redwall, especially after it became clear that we were being followed. And I knew when that the rebellion began, that not responding to it with warfare was the right choice, and...in a way...it was, because it helped the rebels to see that I was innocent of all the wrongdoing that was going on, and because of the fact that they trusted me, they helped me to escape." he shook his head. "But that was all mostly sheer dumb luck!"

"Was it, Kani?" Hax asked bluntly, grinning slightly.

Kani knew the grin, and had to share it. "I'm starting to suspect that there's more to all of this than luck." he remarked. "I assume it was no accident that Mathoni arrived in Angola when he did."

"No, it was seen to that Skipper Rowe would remember the medallion that would led to all of that at exactly the right the time."

"Nor was it an accident that the rebellion began, was it?"

"No. Mormon had been blessed with being told what was going to happen just prior to his death, so he took what action he could to get things moving. A rebellion would help move things in the right direction, put creatures exactly where they needed to be, worked to solidify one's trust with the right creatures, and best of all, the rebellion interfered with Methusael's plans, and will continue to do so. There were no accidents throughout this entire incident, no moments of 'sheer dumb luck.'"

Kani sighed, lying back on the bed with a flop. "Nor was this issue with the sword, was it?"

Hax adverted his gaze for a moment. "No, it wasn't."

"Hax, you know how I feel about being manipulated."

"I know you do." Hax moved closer to the bed so that Kani could still see him from where he now lay. "Yet another reason why you were selected for this." he grinned again. "You have never been one to accept no for an answer. You took matters into your own paws."

Kani snorted, and made a grimace. "Ironic, then, that it is I who is saying no then, isn't it?" he commented.

"Therefore, I must be the one who wouldn't want to take that for an answer." Hax was silent for a moment, fiddling with his claws for a moment. "Kani, you remember several seasons ago, when we were both young cubs, we became rough while playing, and accidently broke mother's favorite crystal vase?"

Kani did remember. He was just barely in his teens, while Hax was a few seasons younger. They had been chasing each other through the corridors playfully like youth their age did, when in their hurry, bumped a small side table that had a clear crystal vase Lady Grinta had always been partial too, and it fell and shattered brilliantly on the stone floor. Worse still, the vase had been a gift from some traveling traders that were favorites among the Angolians, and the vase had stood as a symbol of that. But what Kani remembered the most about the incident was how furious Lady Grinta was when she found out about the incident.

Hax clearly did as well. "Good seasons, were we ever in trouble that day." he remarked, reflecting on the incident. "I remember we had tried to act innocent, like we hadn't done it, and put ourselves as far from that broken vase as we could before someone found out we had broken it, hoping against hope that mother wouldn't put two with two."

"But of course, she did." Kani remarked. "She sought us down, and demanded we confess."

"But we didn't, not initially." Hax added. "So mother sent us to our bedchambers to 'think about it' as punishment."

Kani nodded, and managed a sad grin. "Those were the days, the days when life was happy, carefree, and getting in trouble for broken vases was all we had to worry about." he stated.

"Yes." Hax agreed with a nod. He was silent for a moment. "You remember what father told us during that incident?"

Kani did, because their father was more calm and understanding about the matter than their mother had been. Lord Jarren Fennix was like that. Kani hardly recalled many incidents in which his father was angry. Usually, no matter what the situation, he would always have a unique perspective on the situation and have just the right solution to the matter, that was the part of him that made him the great leader he was...and a wonderful, caring, father whenever he wasn't busy with other things, which he himself made sure wasn't too frequently. He loved his family.

In this instance regarding the broken vase, however, he wisely chose to not take sides. Instead, he visited his two sons and calmly spoke to them about the matter. When they wouldn't confess to him that they broke the vase (which he probably knew that they had anyway), he told them something that both youths realized was good advice.

"He told us that if it was our choice to not say anything about what we knew about the vase, that was our choice, and we were more than free to make it." Hax said, remembering the wise words they were told. "But he reminded us to keep in mind that, no matter what we chose, there would be consequences, both good and bad, that would come with those choices. He then left us to think about that for awhile."

And he did. And after about an hour of dwelling upon the subject, and feeling their guilty consciences tugging at them, they finally agreed to go and tell their mother the truth, and they did. Upon them doing so, Lady Grinta's anger subsided, and she apologized for being so cross with them, pointing out that it _was _merely a vase, and thanked them for telling the truth finally, being sure to tell them to not to play so roughly for this very reason but otherwise let them go free and unpunished on the matter after that.

Kani was silent for a moment. "Where are you going with this, Hax?" he asked.

"My point is that the same principle applies to this, Kani." Hax said. "No matter what anybeast says, you are still free to choose."

Kani sat up and gazed at his brother for a long moment. "It had been apparent to me that I had to do this, no matter what I thought about the matter." he said.

"No one ever told you as such." Hax pointed out. "Not ever Martin. We have all urged you immensely to accept the sword of Martin and the honor it brings with it, and I have certainly made it clear what I wish from you, but no one has ever told you that you had no choice in the matter. Because you do, Kani. We aren't going to force anything upon you if you don't wish it."

Kani digested this thought for a moment. "So what if I say no?"

"Then you will be accountable for that choice. The same is true if you say yes."

"Now wait," Kani said, and he jumped to his feet again, "You know what's to come, correct? The future? What will happen and what will not?"

"Yes."

"And you knew that I would one day have to face this choice one day, correct?"

"Yes, many of us, in fact, do. The warriors of Redwall have all been foreordained for quite some time."

"Then...shouldn't you already know what I'll choose?"

Hax hesitated, avoiding his elder brother's glance. "Yes." he finally admitted.

"Then why give me the choice if you already know what I'll choose?" Kani asked. "Why not just _tell _me?"

Hax made a slight, sly, grin. "To do so would defeat the entire purpose, Kani."

"But you already know, and seeing what direction you've been pushing me in, it'll be a yes."

"Not necessarily. A great many creatures who have had special fates such as this turned it down, missed out on their chance, and lived their lives without ever fulfilling their destiny. For all you know, Kani, all I could know is that you will say no, regardless." Kani made no response to this right away, so Hax continued. "Kani, you are my elder brother, and my better. I may be in an entirely different position than you, know things that you do not, and want to see you fulfill a certain destiny, but I am not you, nor will I ever be. Nor do I want to make you feel like you have been forced to do anything. I am leaving the choice completely and entirely up to you, brother."

Kani still wasn't quite sure he understood. "But...why?" he asked.

"Because..." now Hax's eyes grew teary, "...because you _are_ my brother, Kani. And I love you."

Kani couldn't help but grin at this, despite the tears that were starting to form in his own eyes. "I love you too, Hax." he said. "I...I just fear I haven't done enough to show it."

"Kani, it wasn't in anyway your fault I died." Hax assured him, already knowing what Kani was thinking. "Despite what you think, there was absolutely nothing you could've done to stop it. The same is true for mother. And for father, even though he was the one who died the natural death. And Kani, you have done more than enough to show your love to me, as well as the rest of the family. May your mind rest in peace about that as well."

Kani was still grinning, no longer working to hold back the tears. "I miss you, Hax."

"I miss you as well. But never fear. We will not be apart forever. But for now, you have your own path to follow...and I have mine."

Kani was silent for a long moment, and shook his head. "Hax, I can't do it." he persisted. "I-I just can't, I can't be a warrior for the Redwallers, not like what they are hoping. Maybe if it were Angola, I could, but for Redwall...Hax, they don't want me here, and I don't belong here. I belong in Angola, setting things right there, and being _their _leader, seeing that there's no one else to do it."

"But is there?" Hax asked, and he took a few steps away from his brother. "Give it some thought, Kani. I ask for that much."

And with that, he was gone again, leaving Kani completely alone in the silent dormitory.

* * *

It was extremely late at night now, and Kani figured he should really try and get some sleep. But he couldn't. Sleep was alluding him, the events of the night still too fresh in his mind. Every time he tried to drift off into a blissful state of slumber, the more it alluded him. Finally, restless, and not wanting to stay cooped up in the suddenly cold and empty dormitory, Kani exited the room, and started wandering around aimlessly in the dark and quiet abbey of Redwall. He had no set course in mind. He just needed to wander, and in doing so, think about things.

He was able to do so for quite awhile in complete peace, as it seemed that everybody who wasn't on guard out on the abbey's walltops was fast asleep. Even Abbot Isaiah, whose own dormitory Kani passed in his wandering, the door open a crack, had retired to bed. Kani was just starting to get the impression he had the whole abbey to himself when, when walking down a spartan corridor in the upper levels of the he spied an lit lantern sitting in a window, with a young mouse sitting on the sill beside it, looking out at the night.

Kani stopped, and watched the youth for a moment in silence. He seemed troubled as well, and looked as if he wasn't sure what he should do, given his present situation. The mouse was armed, bearing a crossbow of a curious configuration, but he was handling it in such a way that it was clear that he wasn't planning on putting it to use. He simply...had it. Like he didn't wish to part with it just yet.

And Kani, oddly enough, found himself relating with that situation, except he already had to part with what he had wanted to hang onto.

Both were silent for awhile longer, the mouse seemingly to be unaware that Kani was there, before Kani finally broke the silence.

"Couldn't sleep either, hmm?" he asked.

The mouse calmly glanced in his direction, neither smiling nor frowning. "No." he simply replied back. A pause, then he added, "Every time I do...I'm reminded why I have gotten like this."

Kani had no response to that, as he wasn't entirely sure what he should make of it. Fortunately, the mouse found something to say, after having looked Kani up and down for a moment.

"You're him." he finally stated. "The fox everyone is all worked up about."

Kani nodded. "I am Kani Fennix, young sir." he greeted.

The mouse snorted at this. "'Sir', that's a laugh." he grumbled. He paused again. "I'm Charles."

The name allowed Kani to make some connections. "The mouse who knew war too well." he remarked softly, remembering Isaiah's words on the matter.

Charles gazed back out the window. "That's putting it lightly." he muttered darkly. "More like war came to know me. Not that I like it."

Kani was silent for a moment. "What happened?" he asked finally.

Charles sighed. "I killed them." he replied bluntly. "Seven creatures, from that army." he gestured out the window at the opposing army that threatened the abbey.

"Why?" Kani asked, prompting.

"They attacked." Charles replied. "I...I had volunteer to help guard on the ramparts, but if I had known what would happen, what I was getting myself into..." he shook his head, his eyes glazing over as he remembered. "I killed them."

"In self defense."

"So I'm told."

"You don't think so?"

Charles was silent for a moment. "No."

"Why?"

"I-I lost my self control. I went into a rage in which I...I...just attacked whatever I perceived as a threat. I was ruthless, I...I...murdered them in cold blood...slaughtering them...cutting them down..." he paused, lowering his head in shame, then admitted something he had said little of. "Even when they were in retreat." he sighed. "I could've hurt someone I shouldn't have in that state. Harmed my friends. I know I could've. I didn't, but that doesn't make it _right_. I can remember every detail of that event, every gory detail, I fully knew what I was doing, I was screaming at myself to stop but...I couldn't. And every time I go to sleep, I dream about that event...and am reminded why I am like I am."

Kani was silent for a long moment. "You really do have a grave understanding of war." he remarked, with sympathy.

Charles nodded. "I'm not the same creature I was before because of it." he stated. "War is cruel, Kani. Cruel, futile, and unnatural to nature. It simply wasn't meant for one intelligent creature to take the life of another in such a way. It is nothing but a waste. Such a waste of life." he was silent for a moment. "If there was someway to change things..." he continued, "...some way to take it all back...I would do it. But I can't. And I never will."

Kani approached the window. "Death is a terrible thing." he agreed. "Especially murder, necessary or otherwise."

Charles shook his head. "You just don't understand _how _terrible, though." he pressed.

"No, in your case, I probably don't." Kani agreed, joining the mouse on the windowsill. "But I can still relate to the matter. Not in the terms of warfare...but in the terms of betrayal." Now he hung his head. "My whole family is dead...because of a traitor. Someone I should've seen working to betray me far sooner than I did. I could have saved lives that way, prevented so many troubles...but I didn't."

"And you wish you had." Charles finished, seeing the fox _did _understand somewhat.

Kani nodded. He glanced at Charles. "Everyone has told me that it's not my fault."

"That there was nothing you could've done." Charles continued.

"But that's not what we want to hear." Kani said. "Even if it is true."

"And it true." Charles said. "I know it is. I know that how I acted wasn't my fault, not entirely. I shouldn't blame myself for what happened. But I do anyway."

"Yes." Kani said. He and Charles locked eyes. "We will never forgive ourselves for what happened."

"But the time to succumb to that has passed." Charles continued.

"It's time to move on."

"Time to make the best of the situation, regardless of what we have changed about the world, and what it has changed about us."

"It is the least that they would have wanted of us."

"The least that we can do."

"We can never fully repair the damage that was done."

"So we shouldn't waste our lives trying."

"It is time to make a difference."

The two creatures stared at each other for a long moment, understanding each other so well, they were both inwardly surprised. Then, as if ashamed, they both looked away, and they were silent for several moments. They both stared out the window, deep in thought.

"Thank you." Charles said finally. "That helped. Really."

Kani nodded. "You're welcome." A pause, then, "Thank you as well."

They fell silent again. Were anyone to pass by, they would've found the sight odd, to see these two, a adult fox, and a young mouse, both of different backgrounds, with different situations, different lives, sitting there on the windowsill like they were old friends, having come to an understanding of each other in mere moments.

"So, what now?" Charles finally asked.

Kani shrugged. "That's the mystery." he admitted. "There are really several paths I could choose."

"Same here."

"I am starting to favor one over the other...but I'm not sure where it will lead me, whether or not I'll like where I end up."

"Again, I am the same. But...we have to start somewhere, find someway to continue to survive, to take the best of what has happened. Sometimes, it will simply be the best choice we have, and regardless of what we think, it's the one we really should choose. For our own sake."

Kani nodded in agreement. "True."

Again, the two had reached a silent understanding, and both understood what lay ahead of them.

"What's it like to be a warrior?" Kani finally asked. "A heroic one?"

Charles glanced at him. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

And again, they were silent, secretly amazed at how quickly they came to an understanding, but at the same time, not entirely surprised. Together, they sat and watched the night wear on. Kani was just beginning to realize that Charles was actually searching for something, when the mouse suddenly pointed it out.

"There he is." he remarked, as the dark shape flapped towards the window.

Kani quickly moved out of the way, allowing the sparrow to perch in the windowsill. Ignoring the fox altogether, Blackwing quickly began to tell Charles what he had found out.

"Charlie mouseworm!" the bird began. "Did as you say, perch much close to badworm clothy-home. Badworms no see Sparra. Hearum speak! Much say! Sparra not know what all said, not know badworm speak. Do know badworm otter not happy. No likee fellow badworms no more. Much confised! Know not what do! Not know if otterworm stay! Other badworm not likee this. Much hard speak he say. No thinkee that way. Must be badworms. Otterworm, no listen, not happy with what happens."

Charles nodded in understanding, his brow furrowed.

"What's it saying?" Kani asked, seeing that Charles understood the bird.

"Blackwing has been spying on the enemy camp, listening to the conversations the army's two leaders are having in their tent." Charles explained. "Blackwing says that while he can't understand what all is being said, he did understand that the otter commander is...suddenly doubtful. She doesn't like what has happened, and is confused about it all. The teacher that's with her has been reprimanding her for her thoughts, telling her that she mustn't think like that, to focus on the task at hand, but she doesn't agree." he paused, looking hard at Kani. "I think she has suddenly obtained doubts about the Gemini religion."

Kani pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning upon, his eyes suddenly calculating, making connections. "That's it." he remarked suddenly. "Charles, that's it!"

Charles nodded in complete agreement. "Yes!" he agreed. "That's how we can stop this army, and save Redwall!"

* * *

Suddenly, Kani had purpose again, and quickly knew what he needed to do. Parting with Charles, who had things he wanted to do himself in light of this new information, Kani had hurried back to his dormitory to change back into the clothes he had worn when he had arrived (for he had changed into borrowed clothes upon his arrival at the abbey). He was in a hurry, and wasn't planning on stopping for anything, so it was surprising when he discovered the folded slip of parchment that lay on the floor of the dormitory, just inside the door.

Stooping down to pick it up, Kani studied it for a moment, spying the abbot's signature in one corner. The elderly mouse must have written it and slipped it under the door at some point earlier during the night, and Kani had not noticed. Unfolding it, he read the message that was inside.

"_It is still in Great Hall, should you change your mind."_

Kani lowered the note, understanding exactly what Isaiah meant, and knew what he had to do.

* * *

Sure enough, in the now dark Great Hall, the sword of Martin the Warrior hung in it's proper place just above the tapestry. It must have taken the abbot some effort to return it there, but he had clearly managed. Kani now reached up and removed the blade from it's perch, and examined it, knowing what this meant. He swung it experimentally a few times, then, lowering the blade, he glanced at the facsimile of Martin on the tapestry. Kani could almost feel the warrior mouse's approving gaze.

Kani gave the tapestry a half-grin, and jabbed a claw at the mouse it portrayed. "Tell Hax that he owes me one." he said, then he left.

Taking the sword with him.


	50. Chapter 49

The morning after that action-packed night at Redwall. Not the best chapter ever, kind of rough here and there, but it gets the job done. :)

Chapter 49

Dawn was just beginning to show itself on the eastern horizon of Mossflower, casting a pale, pre-dawn light upon the valley, and upon Redwall Abbey. Morning was rapidly approaching. However, inside the abbey, few were awake yet. The only exceptions were the morning guards stationed on the walltops, and three other creatures actually inside the abbey's main building. Those three creatures was composed of a fox and two mice, one much older than the other.

Abbot Isaiah sat at his desk in his study, and looked at the sight that now stood before him, inwardly amused. For, standing in front of him, awaiting for him to address them, was Kani and Charles. The attitudes of both had changed overnight, it seemed. Kani stood there, arms folded, looking determined but patient. The sword of Martin was strapped to the fox's waist, and looked entirely like the blade belonged there.

Charles stood beside him, and his appearance was similar to Kani's. Together, they stood in similar postures, except Charles didn't have his arms folded. One could also see that Charles still bore the depressed, withdrawn, and self-loathing he had obtained ever since that incident on the walls, but it was much less apparent. Charles had finally obtained control over his emotions, and weren't letting them control him anymore. Beyond that, he looked just as determined as Kani. He also carried the repeating crossbow that the young mouse couldn't seemed to be separated from anymore, as well as a quiver full of more the special arrows the crossbow used slung over one shoulder.

Both had grown over the course of last night's events, becoming stronger and wiser than before. Charles even looked older, and for him, that was a good thing.

Isaiah was impressed. Clearly, a lot can happen in just one night.

He regarded what they had just told him for a moment longer, however. "You say that the commander of the Gemini army is doubting her very cause?" he repeated, a little surprised by this news.

"That's correct, or at least, as far as we can figure." Kani confirmed.

"We have evidence that suggests as such." Charles added.

"I'm not doubting that." Isaiah said. "In fact, I see your point. If this is indeed true, then we could have a very good chance to resolve the problem with no more bloodshed. But..." he shook his head, "...why? Why now and not later? What happened to cause her to doubt?"

"We're not sure." Kani admitted. "All we know is what Blackwing heard and told us. But something clearly happened during this whole conflict that got her like this."

"It doesn't really matter, though." Charles pressed. "The point is that if she's doubting, then maybe we can get her to switch sides. And if we can get her to switch sides..."

"...the majority should follow." Kani finished. "At the very least, it's worth a try."

Isaiah nodded in agreement. "Anything to prevent more bloodshed." he said, rising. "What shall be our next move? I wish your opinions on the matter."

"We talk with them." Kani said. "Arrange to meet with the leaders under peaceful terms, and discuss the very matter of loyalty, see if we can encourage the process."

"Not just anyone can delegate that delicately, however." Charles pointed out. "It can't just be anyone."

"I will do whatever delegating is necessary, this is one thing I know that I am very skilled at." Isaiah remarked. "However, I would like the presence of both of you, so I can ask for more input as needed."

The two nodded, and jointly voiced their agreement.

"Anything else, Father Abbot?" Charles asked, as Isaiah retrieved his cane and started hobbling out from behind his desk.

"Yes, Charles, go down to the walltops and inform Skipper Rowe of our plan, and have him ready." Isaiah instructed. "I will join you there shortly, after I get some quick breakfast. When I arrive, we'll see if we can begin the talks. No need to hold them off, after all. Kani, I would like you to be there when I begin."

Kani nodded. "Certainly, but may I ask why?"

Isaiah grinned, and pointed a claw at the sheathed sword Kani had strapped to his belt. "You need to ask?" he said teasingly, then turned serious as he headed for the study door. "Call it superstition, but I would feel safer if the warrior of Redwall was present, in case things went awry."

"Very well." Kani said as he followed the abbot. Charles followed them out the door as well, but then pushed ahead of them to carry out the instructions he had been given. Kani waited until he had gone until he continued. "However, I feel that I should warn you Father Abbot that just because I accepted possession of the sword of Martin does not mean I intend to stay at Redwall. This will probably only be temporary. There is still the matter of Angola to resolve, after all."

Isaiah nodded. "Of course." he said. "But let's just wait and see how things turn out, and cross that bridge when we come to it, shall we?"

Kani nodded, then paused. "Father Abbot, one more thing." at this, he turned hesitant. "Would it possible to perhaps hold off telling the Redwallers about my...decision?"

Isaiah sighed. "They aren't going to take the news well, are they?" he asked aloud.

Kani shook his head. "Not likely."

"Kani, I can perfectly understand your hesitation, and I myself have some of my own." Isaiah said. "It would certainly allow for things to run smoother during this possibly pivotal moment. However, they still have a right to know. Surely you must see that."

Kani nodded. "I do." he said. "I won't hold it against you."

Isaiah nodded. "Tell you what, I won't say anything unless they ask." he remarked. "That should at least slow down the news." he gave the fox a comforting grin. "Now go on, and do whatever you need to do while I breakfast. No need for you to hang around an old and slow fogey all morning."

Kani laughed. "You are certainly everything but an old fogey, Father Abbot, I am finding that out quite quickly." he hurried on ahead, though, taking the abbot's advice. "However, there is _one _thing I wish to do while I have the chance."

* * *

Mathoni was currently sound asleep in his bed in his dormitory, with visions of watershrimp dancing through his head.

This was all rudely shattered when someone suddenly threw back the covers on his bed. Startled at the sudden chill that swept over his body, not helped by the breeze of the covers being whisked brushing his fur, Mathoni gasped, flinched, and curled up into a tight ball to try and conserve the heat he had been adjusted to feeling. He slowly started to wake up, but this was sped up significantly when the shutters on the dormitory window were thrown open, allowing a burst of morning light to flood the room. Even though the young otter's eyes were still closed, the suddenly light nearly blinded him.

"Gah!" Mathoni finally cried, sitting up, rubbing at his sleepy eyes. "All right, all right, mate, who ever ye are, I'm up!"

"Yes, get up, rise and shine, for it's morning, and there is things to do!" the voice replied brightly.

Mathoni recognized it, and finally opened his eyes to look at the fox. "Kani?" he muttered. "Um, good morning...wot brings ye 'ere, matey?"

"To get you up!" Kani repeated, grabbing Mathoni by the shoulders and hefting the otter to his paws. "I want your help with this."

"With wot?" Mathoni objected as Kani tossed him some clean clothes to put on.

"Came up with a plan with Charles last night." Kani explained, as Mathoni put on the clean garments. "We've got an idea on how to end the conflict Redwall currently has with the Followers of Gemini."

"Wait, hold on!" Mathoni said, his still sleepy mind feeling lost as he pulled on a clean tunic. "Plan? Wot plan? When did ye meet with Charles?"

"Late last night, neither of us could sleep." Kani replied distractedly, with the wave of his paw. "We're going to put it into action here soon, and...and I figured you would like to be there."

"Aye, probably." Mathoni replied, smoothing out the wrinkles on the clothes now that he had him on, and watched Kani as, seeing that the otter was dressed, started out the dormitory's door. "But wot _is _this plan." it was then that he noticed the sword that Kani carried. "Whoa, wait! Where did ye get _that_?"

Kani glanced at it briefly as he walked out, and winced slightly. "Long story." he admitted. "A part of me is still wondering if I'll regret accepting it, but..." he shrugged.

Mathoni hurried to keep up with him. "Hold on, ye sayin' that ye were given that?" he asked. He stared at the sheathed sword for a long moment. "That _is _wot I think it is...right?"

Kani unsheathed the sword of Martin and held it up for Mathoni to see. The young otter's jaw nearly unhinged as he realized the enormity of what this meant. "Ye mean t' say that ye're th' warrior of Redwall now?" he asked in awe.

Kani nodded, returning the sword to it's sheath. "I don't blame you if you have mixed feelings about that." he said softly. "Like I said, I still have mixed feelings myself." he inhaled sharply. "But at the moment, I think this is the best choice I can make at the moment, and it probably won't be permanent anyway, so I'm going to go with it. Regardless of what everyone else might say on the matter."

He then continued walking. Mathoni watched him, hesitating to follow. Kani was right, he _did _have mixed feelings at the moment at the idea of Kani being the warrior of Redwall, but he kept his mouth shut about the matter, for two reasons. One, he trusted Kani, and he trusted that there was probably a very good reason he became the warrior, as he knew of no instance where this wasn't the case. And second, he didn't want to offend his friend. Instead, he changed the subject.

"So wot _is _this plan ye keep mentionin'?" Mathoni asked, hurrying to keep up with Kani.

* * *

Isaiah did exactly as he said he would do, and wandered down to the kitchens to obtain some breakfast, which Friar Machaerus, who had just barely gotten up by then, was more than happy to provide. He dined in peace in Cavern Hole. While he did so, other inhabitants of the abbey started to wake up and wander around. As it was still too early for the official breakfast, few entered Cavern Hole, but a few kitchen workers did pass by, who greeted the abbot cheerfully as they went.

When he was done dining, Isaiah exited Cavern Hole, to head outside to the walltops as planned. But as he stepped out into Great Hall, he quickly noticed that a crowd had gathered around the area where the sword of Martin was usually hung, several pointing up at the now empty space, and conversing urgently amongst themselves. Isaiah looked at the sight, and sighed.

"Well, that didn't take long." he muttered.

He started to walk on to head outside, knowing that he would go past the cluster of creatures on his way out, but hoped that they simply wouldn't notice him as he went by.

He had no such luck.

"Hey, there's the abbot!" Linus stated suddenly from within the crowd, and pointed at the elderly mouse. "He'd know. Father Abbot, where's Martin's sword?"

"Was a warrior selected t' wield it?" Malachi asked, the young hare bouncing up to ask the abbot this.

Isaiah hesitated, but did not stop heading for the exit. "Yes." he finally replied simply.

"Who?" Aquila called out from within the group, that was now following the abbot.

Isaiah started going as fast as he could manage, closing his eyes as he replied. "Kani."

The group following him paused for a brief moment, caught off guard by the name, and for some, it didn't mean much to them, and were momentarily lost.

"Kani?" Someone in the group said. "Wait, isn't that the fox?"

Murmuring broke loose again, as several started to agree, and it slowly started to raise in volume. Isaiah ignored it as he headed outside and started for the walltops. For a moment, no one followed him, which was a temporary relief, but it didn't last. Finally, members of the council of elders broke from the group and chased after Isaiah.

"Father Abbot, is it true?" Linus asked as he caught up with Isaiah. "You made the _fox _the warrior?"

"Yes." Isaiah replied.

"Why? What on earth made you think he was the creature for the job?" Aquila asked, sounding puzzled.

"A number of reasons, but it overall just seemed right." Isaiah replied.

"Yes, but he's a _fox_." Linus pressed. "In other words, vermin!"

"Not according to Kani, Mathoni, Rowe, and others." Isaiah said. "And I have no reason to distrust the word of any of them."

"Well, _I _jolly well do!" a voice echoed from behind him, and an angry Friar Machaerus came marching up, Malachi trailing behind his father, having gone to fetch him and tell him the news. "I want t' know wot bright idea it was t' give that fox a weapon of _any _sort!"

"Because I trusted Kani, and anyway, I left the choice up to him." Isaiah pressed before this got much further. "It was _he _who made the final choice, not I."

"But of course, he said yes straightaway, wot!" Machaerus barked as he joined the ever growing group.

"Actually, no." Isaiah remarked. "He was extremely hesitant, nearly didn't accept the sword."

"He was?" Linus remarked. The squirrel was surprised. "Why would he be so hesitant?"

"Wot bloomin' difference does it make?" Machaerus declared. "Right now, we've got a flippin' fox wanderin', carryin' the very _symbol _of Redwall with his grubby paws! Are we really going t' just stand by and let this continue?"

"Now hold on just a moment." Sister Mint remarked, joining the group. "I question this judgement just as much as you do, Machaerus, but this fox isn't like the other foxes Redwall has encountered."

"Aye, I have to wonder if maybe this _is _a satisfactory choice." Linus remarked, suddenly torn over the matter. "I mean, if he hesitated to accept the blade as much as Isaiah suggests..."

Aquila agreed with her husband with a nod.

"Don't!" Machaerus exclaimed warningly. "Don't even _go _there, anyone! This isn't right, an' we all now it!"

Isaiah merely ignored the argument that was going on around him, and continued onward for the walltops. He was nearly there. He could see that Kani and Charles were already there, as he expected, and were talking with Skipper Rowe, who probably knew everything by now himself, and seemed to have come to terms with it. Mathoni was also present, standing to one side, and Illia and Tobias were stationed as guards nearby, and were listening attentively. Isaiah hoped to arrive up there peacefully without drawing the attention to the commotion that was going on in the grounds, but it was hoped in vain. The commotion drew their attention anyway.

"Father Abbot, what's going on?" Kani called suddenly as he motioned to Rowe to stop speaking for a moment, and looked down at the elderly mouse about to climb the stairs leading up to the ramparts.

"They found out." Isaiah replied.

Kani's eyes locked on the group of creatures arguing, who had fallen behind the abbot in their arguing, and let his ears droop. "Oh bother." he muttered.

"'Found out?'" Mathoni repeated, who hadn't put two with two yet.

"There he is!" Machaerus suddenly exclaimed from within the group, and with the agility only a hare could have, shot forward and up the stairs, pushing the abbot aside in the process.

"Machaerus!" Sister Mint exclaimed as she and Aquila hurried forward to help the elderly mouse as he stumbled.

The friar ignored them, and didn't stop until he was face to face with Kani. Kani, growing alarmed, placed a paw on the hilt of the sword he carried, adding to the tension.

"All right, you!" Machaerus exclaimed. "Relinquish that blade this instant, and get out of our abbey! You've gone an' stepped too far now, wot-wot!"

"I'm trying to _help _you." Kani growled, gazing at Machaerus dangerously. He already disliked the hare due to past encounters. "You really willing to stop me from doing that?"

"Help us? HA!" Machaerus spat. He jabbed a claw into Kani's ribs. "You're up to something, I just know it! All vermin are! Never met one that was different in all me life! Probably just waitin' t' stab us all in the back the first moment you get!"

"What?" Charles said, trying to step in-between those two. "Not Kani!"

"Then prove it!" Machaerus barked.

"He's tryin', mate, but th' likes of ye aren't lettin' him do it!" Rowe said, also moving in the way.

"I don't think he _wants _proof that I am what I say I am." Kani said, not backing down, glaring at the hare, who glared back. "He wants proof of what I am not."

"An' who's t' say that you aren't?" Machaerus challenged. "I will never trust a fox like you with anything in this abbey!"

"Machaerus, that's enough!" Isaiah reprimanded as he arrived on the ramparts no worse for wear, the rest of the group following behind him. "You've made your point. Now back off before someone gets hurt because of your reckless actions."

Machaerus turned to the abbot to object, but fell short as he saw Isaiah's glare that the elderly mouse was giving him, a rarity for him. Machaerus didn't calm down, though.

"It isn't right, Father Abbot!" he objected. "He shouldn't have that sword! Now give it up!" he went to grab the sword forcefully from Kani's waist, but was quickly restrained.

"Machaerus." Isaiah repeated darkly. "Back off."

"Father," Malachi said, coming to his father's side quickly. "The abbot's right, you've made your point, now _please_, stop!" he looked frightened, worrying that a fight might break loose.

Machaerus fumed, however, and looked around for supporters. He got none. "Confound it!" he cried. "Why can't you silly beasts see it? You aren't seriously going t' let this fox take our sword, are you? Great seasons, _I _could be a better warrior than _that _flea-bitten..."

Kani had the sword out in a flash, before anyone could stop him, and had it pointed at Machaerus's throat menacingly. He had enough of the friar's bad temper.

The fox glared at the hare coldly for a long moment. "I'd be more than happy to give you the sword, hare." he said challengingly. "If you fight me for it."

Machaerus finally backed down at this, but he still looked like he had half a mind to take the fox up on the challenge.

"Kani, lower the sword." Isaiah instructed when Machaerus started to back off.

Kani nodded, and started to put the sword away, taking his eyes off Machaerus in the process. It was then that Machaerus suddenly lashed out with one of his paws, catching Kani on the side of his head. The fox tumbled to the stone walkpath of the ramparts. Several things then happened at once. More than one creature rushed forward to restrain Machaerus, Charles whipped out his crossbow more out of instinct than anything, and a loud commotion broke out as several started speaking at once.

"SILENCE!" Mathoni suddenly called out, pushing his way into the center of the melee. "Everybeast, shut up!"

Everyone did, and turned to stare at the young otter. He looked at them all for a moment, looking disappointed.

"Look at all of ye!" he finally announced. "The whole lot of ye! This ain't how Redwallers are supposed t' act! 'Ere we are, bickerin' like Dibbuns over chestnuts, when we're missin' the _big _picture 'ere! Has everybeast forgotten that an army still sits practically at our doorstep, threatenin' our very way of life? I'm surprised they haven't gone an' shot at us while we were fightin'!"

Everyone glanced out at the Quorum of Warriors at this, just to double-check, but it seemed that for the moment, the enemy army could care less about the ongoings in the abbey.

"Now look at ye!" Mathoni repeated. "Bickerin' over some silly thing about who's the warrior! This ain't some game we're playin' 'ere, this is a matter of life an' death! Who cares who carries that sword, just so long as that creature knows how t' use it? Kani clearly does! And furthermore, he's got a plan t' help _save _this abbey! I really don't think ye should be standin' in his way for that, not unless ye really want t' get yoreself killed, mates!" he bent over and helped Kani get up before continuing. "Now I know that I trust Kani. I know that Charles trust him. Fires an' floods, I know the _abbot _trusts him, or ye can guarantee we wouldn't be havin' this conversation right now. Now if that ain't proof enough that ye can treat Kani like the goodbeast he really is and trust him, then I don't wot is!"

Silence fell for a long moment. The Redwallers all exchanged looks with one another, many of them feeling sheepish. Machaerus shrugged off his restrainers, gave one last glare at Kani, but finally dropped the subject and departed. Isaiah surveyed the group that had gathered, then turned to Mathoni and gave the youth a grin.

"Nicely said, Mathoni." he complimented.

"Thank ye, Father Abbot." Mathoni said, beaming slightly at the praise.

Kani patted Mathoni on the shoulder. "Yes, thank you." he said as well. "Now, Father Abbot, if we're done here, I believe we have other things we need to do."

"Yes indeed." Isaiah said, stepping forward. "Time to see if we can turn the tide to our favor in this conflict."


	51. Chapter 50

Kani and the weasel teacher bible-bash. Actually, this was a fairly difficult chapter to put together, but I am quite pleased with the end result, and everything fit together picture perfectly. :D Next chapter, we're switching gears, and going to start focusing on Alexander for a little while. ;)

Chapter 50

The otter commander was torn.

Torn over the matters presently engaged in.

Torn over the ethics of those matters.

Torn over whether or not it was her place to even question it.

Torn over everything.

And she didn't know what to do about it.

The weasel teacher was being less than helpful about the matter, too. His answers to the series of questions she had been giving him off and on were all indirect, and almost seemed to be avoiding the honest and straight answer, carried out in such a crafty way that the otter commander wondered if she was just imagining it. But more often than not, he wouldn't even answer at all, not willing to even touch the subject. This was usually followed by his urging to forget such "wicked" thoughts and repent of them, thereby remaining steadfast to the teachings of Gemini. For it was Gemini that would see things through as they should.

But the otter commander, for the first time in more seasons than she cared to remember, wasn't so sure of that.

Her "doubts", for lack of a better term, were first aroused when they first arrived at the abbey that was called Redwall. Initially, it had seemed like a fairly routine assignment. Show off the scale of the army and make the wicked realize just how outnumbered they are came first. Then, due to a prompting from the weasel teacher, the wicked were given one last chance to repent, which actually wasn't an uncustomary thing to do, as the otter commander had seen it done several times before. The wicked then denied their one last chance and instead chose to resist, and this did not surprise the otter commander, as she had somehow expected that they would.

This was all very normal routine things for the Quorum of Warriors to deal with, with nothing at all out of the ordinary. It wasn't until _after _all of this that the otter commander's suspicions began to be aroused as the conflict dragged on. Because first of all, it taking far longer than it normally would to conquer these abbeydwellers. Under normal circumstances, all creatures that refuse to forsake their wicked ways and resisted the Quorum of Warriors was conquered fairly quickly. But this wasn't the case with the Redwallers. Despite being outnumbered, despite being at siege, despite being suppositively overpowered, they had managed to stand their ground, with few casualties, since the very first attack. All the odds were against the Redwallers, and yet there they stood, having lost no land to their attacking army, successfully holding back an army that was usually quite a force to be reckoned with. And the otter commander couldn't figure out how it was done.

They had been here for several days now, gaining no headway against the abbey's forces. And yet, it was the Quorum of Warriors that had the power of Gemini on their side. So how was it that mere wicked creatures that, to her understanding, had no such blessings on their side could hold them back?

Then there had been her own injury, which was totally unexpected. She had taken a Redwaller's arrow to the shoulder, and while it wasn't life threatening and would eventually heal well, it had hindered her ability to command greatly. And that wasn't even the half of it. No commander of the Quorum of Warriors had been injured, regardless of the seriousness of the wound, since the Followers of Gemini's early days many untold seasons ago. The army's numbers were too great the army itself too powerful, to permit it. Furthermore, every commander was blessed by Gemini to not to come to any harm. None at all.

And yet, she had. And by the wicked, no less.

As before, the weasel teacher couldn't seem to provide an accurate explanation, other than to suggest that perhaps it was due to the otter commander's own wicked acts that this had happened, voiding the blessing. But the otter commander knew that wasn't true. She had been perfectly righteous and loyal to Gemini during the whole conflict, and before as well.

So why had he forsaken her?

And it wasn't just her. Several other creatures in the army seemed puzzled and perplexed by all of this, not understanding what was happening. They were questioning themselves and their abilities, and probably the abilities of Gemini as well. They had lost the drive to keep fighting, and as a result, their morale sinking rapidly. They had lost the force, the very power, that enabled them to fight, and fight effectively.

And now the Redwallers seemed to have it.

And now, the otter commander was doubting that Gemini existed at all.

The weasel teacher was venomously against this belief, refusing to even discuss the subject. He assured her that Gemini did very much exist, and that to think otherwise was the worse and almost unforgivable sin that could be committed. He told her to chase all such thoughts from her mind and never think of them again. If he found that she was, he would exercise his power to bring justice to her sins. And his power could be challenged, beaten, nor denied. He was a member of the Quorum of Teachers, after all. Few in the religion were more powerful than they save Gemini himself.

But even the otter commander found herself doubting that.

However, she wisely kept most of these thoughts to herself. It wouldn't do if word got around that she was doubting herself, her beliefs, and above all, her ability to command the army.

So the events of that morning came as a complete surprise to her.

"Attention Quorum of Warriors!" the voice of a fox called suddenly from the walltops of the abbey on the morning in question. "The inhabitants of Redwall like to declare a momentary truce to parley with the leaders of this army, the weasel, and the otter commander!"

The fox had the army's attention alright, as murmuring started to break loose at this announcement. This was a sudden turn of tactics for the Redwallers themselves.

Favoring her injured arm, which still hung in a sling, the otter commander exited her tent and looked towards the abbey. Standing on the ramparts beside the abbey's main gates was the fox in question, which was surprising to the otter commander. She couldn't remember there being any confirmed foxes at the abbey. Beside the fox was the abbot of Redwall, the elderly mouse, as well as the usual compliment of guards that were stationed on the walls. The otter commander stared at them for a little while, with a frown.

The weasel teacher stepped up next to her. "They are up to something." he remarked aloud.

"How can you be sure?" the otter commander asked. "They might have decided that they have had enough." Although, even as she said it, she didn't believe it.

The weasel teacher gripped his staff tightly. "We shall see." he remarked, and stepped towards the abbey. The otter commander followed, mildly curious.

The Redwallers had been looking for them coming, and the two were pointed out as they drew closer to the walls. The two looked up at the Redwallers.

"Are you wishing to surrender?" the otter commander began, almost hopeful. Whatever what was going on here, she didn't want slay a group of creatures that had as much will to survive as these Redwallers. "Do you wish to repent?"

"We will do no such thing." the abbot remarked determinedly.

"Then why have you summoned us?" the weasel teacher demanded coldly. "If you do not wish to follow Gemini, then we have nothing to discuss."

"On this, we disagree." the fox remarked, leaning over the ramparts. "But that is why we wish to talk. On peaceful terms. Just to the two of you, with no other forces lurking nearby to kill any creature."

"I will not discuss anything with the unrepentant." the weasel teacher declared.

The otter commander gave him a look. "But if they wish to talk..." she began.

"They are wicked creatures, and are refusing to repent." the teacher objected. "We have no business to do with them. We will not talk peace with them."

"I did not say we wanted to talk about peace." the fox said. "There is no peace between us, at least not yet. What I said is that we want to talk on peaceful terms. About religion."

The weasel raised his eyebrows at this. "You do not wish to repent and follow the ways of Gemini, but you still wish to discuss religion?" he asked. "Whatever for?"

"It is not so much you we want to talk to, but we know you're going to follow anyway." the abbot commented. "Rather, it is the otter commander that we wish to speak with."

The otter commander blinked and stared up at them in obvious surprise. The army surrounding them, that was naturally listening, began murmuring again.

"If you agree to enter our abbey peacefully, just the two of you, to talk further in private, we'll explain further." the fox explained.

The weasel teacher and the otter commander exchanged glances.

"I want to talk to them." the otter commander stated bluntly, very intrigued by all of this.

The weasel nodded in agreement. "I am admittedly...curious...to hear what they have to say myself." he remarked, glancing back up at the two Redwallers watching them. "We will agree to your terms, abbeydwellers. We will talk."

* * *

Isaiah sent away all of the Redwallers milling about in the grounds, curious about what was happening (or present still because about the dispute regarding Kani's sudden promotion to warrior of Redwall earlier), so that there would be undisturbed. The guards remained stationed on the walltops, although Rowe wanted to be present with at least one other creature to keep an eye on the proceedings in case something went wrong. Mathoni and Charles both volunteered for the job, but Kani put a stop to the matter.

"We're inviting them inside this abbey under the terms that they come alone and unguarded." the fox pointed out wisely. "It's only fair that we do the same."

And no one could deny that logic.

So it was only Abbot Isaiah and Kani that awaited the weasel and the otter at the main gates, opened just far enough and just long enough for the two to enter. They were a curious pair; the weasel dressed in his sky blue habit and gripping his staff topped with a large, blue, sapphire on top of it, bearing the apparently trademark tatoos of a teacher, while the otter commander was dressed in the usual copper-colored armor and uniform the rest of the army wore, with one arm in a sling. But then again, if they seemed to be different to the Redwallers, imagine what the Redwallers seemed like to them.

"Hello." Kani greeted with a nod. "To begin, I thought we should all exchange names. I know you already know the abbot, but you probably do not know me. I am Kani Fennix, and I am..." he trailed off in search of an adequate word to describe his connections to the abbey. Isaiah gave him a sideways glance during this. "...visiting the abbey."

"You are the fox the rat spoke of." the weasel deduced suddenly.

Kani blinked. "Rat?" he repeated, lost. Then he, too, made the connection. "You mean the rat mercenary that was following me." he paused for a moment, frowning. "What happened to her?"

"She refused to accept the teachings of Gemini and was disposed of." the weasel replied bluntly.

Kani frowned. "Oh." he said. "I suppose that would explain why no one has seen her scrawny tail since my arrival..."

"What are your names, if I may ask?" Isaiah inquired suddenly, moving the topic away from the more morbid one concerning the dead Aurora. "It would be nice to have something else to call you by other than your species, rank, and overall appearance."

"Name?" the otter commander repeated, and was lost in thought for a long moment.

"Names are irrelevant in the eyes of Gemini." the weasel explained. "We are all his followers. It is not important to know more than that."

"Plagues and pestilence, how do you tell each other apart, then?" Kani asked, bewildered at the idea of living life without knowing anybody's given names.

"I believe you invited us into your abbey to talk about religion." the teacher said instead, getting back on topic.

"You are correct." Isaiah said, and motioned towards the abbey's main building. "If you will please follow us, we can begin once we're inside."

Isaiah and Kani led the way towards the abbey's main building, the weasel and the otter following, the latter still lost in thought.

"Melody." the otter suddenly announced out of the blue.

They all glanced at her, looking puzzled.

"That is my name." the otter explained hesitantly. "At least...it is what I remember my mother calling me. But...but I have not been called that in many, many seasons."

"Since you became a member of the Gemini religion?" Isaiah guessed.

The otter commander lowered her gaze, sensing the weasel beside her giving an unpleasant glare, and nodded. "And since my mother's death." she added.

"Speaking of which, what do the Followers of Gemini believe happen to the dead?" Kani asked aloud as they started up the steps leading into Great Hall.

"They ascend to a higher being, and serve Gemini." the weasel teacher replied immediately.

"Is that all?"

"Need there be more?"

"Well, there must be more to the afterlife than just serving Gemini like slaves."

"Perhaps, but that is only of Gemini's concern."

"Sounds selfish." Isaiah commented as they stepped into Great Hall and started walk down the abandoned, large, room. "Gemini seems to be very concerned about matters regarding _him_ and little else."

"In the eyes of the wicked, it would seem like it." the weasel teacher remarked coldly. "It is not true, however."

"And how do you know that?" Kani asked, stopping suddenly, causing everyone else to stop as well.

"Because Gemini has taught us as such." the teacher replied.

"So you just automatically believe whatever he seems to tell you?"

"Do you have reason to doubt his almighty word?"

Kani and Isaiah exchanged looks.

"Do you have reason to doubt ours?" Isaiah asked calmly.

"Yes. Because it is untrue."

"Why? What makes it untrue?"

"Because you do not adhere to the ways dictated by Gemini."

"See, that's an interesting pattern that I've noticed about this Gemini being." Kani remarked, shaking a claw in thought. "If anybeast doesn't do things his way, they must die, correct?"

"That is correct." the weasel replied.

"Why?"

"Because they are wicked."

"What makes them wicked?"

"Because they do not adhere to the ways dictated by Gemini."

"And why must they die for that?"

The weasel hesitated for a spilt second. "Because they are wicked."

"Why?"

Even the weasel couldn't come up with an adequate answer for that. "There is nothing more to explain." he reasoned finally.

"So, if Gemini tells you to do something, you must do it?" Kani asked.

"What is your point?" the weasel challenged, looking annoyed.

"My point," Kani began, "is simple. The Redwallers believe something different from you. And yet you have a problem with that."

"It is all lies." the weasel stated simply.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because Gemini has told us as such, and Gemini is all-knowing."

Kani nodded inwardly to himself, seeming to be thinking that over. He glanced again at the abbot, who was staying silent. He knew that Kani had a plan for all of this, and was letting the fox go at it.

"What if," Kani began, addressing the subject purposely idly, "I told you that it was actually _your _religion that is a lie?"

The weasel narrowed his eyes at the fox, and the otter commander's head looked up to meet the fox's gaze.

"Is it?" she asked.

"No." the weasel quickly assured her with a dark tone.

"But how do you know?" Kani prompted.

"Because Gemini has told us as such. He has shown grace to our kind and taught us his ways so that we can be righteous."

"It is what you believe, then." Kani clarified.

The weasel gave him a look, but did not deny it. "You may phrase it that way, yes." he agreed.

Kani nodded, and then grinned. "You know, I respect that." he said. "I respect the fact that you believe in something that I do not. It's your right to believe that, whether or not there's any truth to it at all." he paused, frowning again. "Unfortunately, you can't seem to show Redwall the same courtesy."

"What you believe in is lies, and entirely wicked." the weasel stated plainly. "It is a different matter entirely."

"In your eyes, it would seem like that, wouldn't it?" Kani said with a smirk, using the teacher's own words against him. He started circling the weasel, to the creature's annoyance. "You know, Martin isn't like your Gemini." the fox continued, motioning to the depiction of the mouse of the nearby tapestry. "They do bear a lot of similarities, like they fact that they are both all-knowing, and both are probably all powerful. But there is one thing that makes them stand apart. Gemini is a dictator, who must have everything done his way. Martin, however, is the opposite, and is merely a guide for us mortal creatures..."

"Make your point, please." the weasel growled, growing annoyed again.

"My point is that no matter what anybeast says or tells you, you are free to choose for yourselves." Kani growled in the weasel's ear. He gave the weasel a glare for a moment, then turned away. "My brother told me that."

"We are free to choose." the weasel remarked, perhaps seeing where Kani was going with this already.

"Prove it." the fox challenged, jabbing a claw at the weasel. "If you really had the freedom to choose, then you can choose to spare this abbey."

The weasel hesitated. "I cannot do that." he stressed. "Gemini will not permit it."

"And there lies our problem." Kani said with narrowed eyes. "Gemini is robbing you of your freedom, can't you see that? If you really _did _have the freedom to choose, then you could acknowledge that the inhabitants of Redwall simply believed differently from you. You may not like it, but you had the freedom to choose what to do about it, and the most _logical _thing to choose about it would be to just leave us well enough alone. If we didn't want to believe the same things as you, then the logical thing to do is to just avoid us and go looking for other potential creatures to convert. This isn't a matter worth killing innocent creatures over."

"But you are wicked." the weasel argued quickly, determinedly, but lamely. "You must be destroyed."

"But _why_?" Kani emphasized again. "Gemini's an all-powerful being, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then...if he's really so almighty, then why destroy the wicked? What could a bunch of insignificant mortal creatures be able to do to the likes of him? What is he so afraid of that he's willing to slaughter possibly hundreds if not thousands of creatures and virtually enslave even more for?"

The weasel was at a loss for words again. "He...he is afraid of nothing." he argued. "Gemini is afraid of no beast, mortal or otherwise."

"Then I'll say it again," Kani said, advancing on the weasel, "why destroy the wicked?"

"Because...because they are wicked, and the wicked cannot coexist with the righteous."

"But what does that matter to Gemini? They all die and become his eternal servants, right? Why does he care if they're good or bad?"

"Because...because...they are wicked."

"And what makes them wicked?"

"Because they are resisting the teachings of Gemini."

"And why do you think they resist, hmm? Is it because you threaten to kill them if they don't repent? Did it ever occur to you that all of the creatures you've been considering as wicked might have actually just been _fighting _for their very _lives_?"

"If the wicked are not destroyed, they will prevail against the righteous and all will be lost."

"So Gemini really _does _have reason to be afraid of the wicked, then, hmm?"

One could see the weasel's pattern of thought grind to a halt at this, realizing that he was in a bind. He glanced around, seeing Kani's self-satisfied face pressing into his. He saw the abbot allowing himself a smirk, and he saw that the otter commander, naturally listening to _all _of this, was now more torn than ever, and was now looking to favor the Redwallers's side than Gemini's. Even the depiction of Martin on the tapestry seemed to be looking victorious about the matter. The teacher was losing the argument.

And the fox knew it. "So if the wicked are such a threat, then why can't Gemini just deal with them himself?" Kani challenged, pressing the matter.

But the weasel was done arguing. "Back away, fox." he growled darkly, gearing up to attack if need be.

"Oh? Feeling threatened, are we? And why might that be? Can't stand the thought that I might actually be _right_?"

"I said _back away _fox."

Kani only pressed himself closer, causing the weasel to step back in discomfort. "Make me, weasel."

The weasel had had enough by this point. "That can be arranged."

With lightning speed, he suddenly lashed out at the fox with his staff. But Kani was one step faster, and has the sword of Martin out in a flash and with one swipe, had deflected the blow. He then tickled the nape of the weasel's neck with the blade's tip, glaring at the weasel. The look the weasel gave back was almost murderous.

"You back away, weasel." Kani growled. "Back away and leave this abbey in peace. And never come back or I swear, I will kill you where you stand."

"You cannot harm me, fox." the weasel spat. "I am a member of the Quorum of Teachers and have Gemini's highest blessings. He will not allow us to be slain at the paws of the wicked."

Kani smirked again. He glanced at the otter commander. "Is that true?" he asked.

The otter still seemed torn over the whole matter. But she glanced hesitantly at her own injured arm, and thought about some of her own self doubts for a moment.

"If I could be injured, even though I myself had Gemini's blessings," she began, "Then..." she looked up at the weasel in shock, "...I don't think it is."

The weasel's eyes snapped wide with rage at this, and he let out a mad yell, and swung his staff again at Kani, wildly aiming for the fox's head. Kani was too quick, however, and with a swing of his blade, he had sliced the staff in two. Then, using the butt of the sword's handle, planted it into the weasel's snout, breaking it with a crack. Shocked by both instances, the weasel snapped a paw to his bleeding snout as he overbalanced by the impact and fell onto his back. It was the last thing he ever did, as Kani ended the whole conflict then and there with one stab with the sword of Martin.

All was suddenly silent in Great Hall again.

Panting, Kani looked at the weasel long enough to confirm that he was dead, then removed the sword from the carcass and cleaned the blood off of it on the weasel's own habit before sheathing it again.

"Sorry Father Abbot." Kani apologized quietly.

"Little need to apologize, Kani." Isaiah said in complete understanding, who had turned his head away at the last second so to not look upon the weasel's dead body. "You did what was needed."

The otter commander, however, couldn't take her eyes off the dead body. "You killed him." she repeated, shocked. She glanced at Kani. "But how?"

Kani glanced back at her. "You tell me." he replied.

"The teachers are supposed to be protected from murder. And yet you killed him. With startling ease. That teaching Gemini has given us is not true. But...how? How can that be?"

Isaiah calmly stepped over to her and placed a paw on her shoulder. "If Gemini was really the omnipotent and caring being you claimed him to be, do you really think he would've let this happen?" he asked rhetorically.

The otter commander glanced at him for a moment, then her eyes locked back on the dead weasel. Suddenly, they stated to tear up. "He's not real, is he?" she asked. "Gemini doesn't exist. He never did."

"No." Kani said, stepping towards her. "No, we don't think he does. We don't think he ever did, not like you believed he did."

The otter, once known by her mother as Melody, began sniffling for several moments, then finally broke down and wept bitter tears of anguish, ashamed for the deeds she had done, thought done for the greater good, by a terrible and bloodthirsty false deity that she had been foolish enough to believe in.

* * *

The Quorum of Warriors waited patiently outside the abbey for their leaders to return from their meeting, wondering to themselves what the meeting was about, and what was being said. Above all, they wondered what the end outcome of this meeting would be. They finally got their chance to find out when the abbey gates opened, and their commander, along with Kani and Isaiah, stepped out to face them.

Immediately, they noticed that of the two creatures from their numbers that had entered the building, only one was now returning...and a great change in persona had come over her. Murmuring increased significantly at this, as everyone wondered what was going on.

They were not long in waiting.

The otter commander, Melody, stepped forward to address her troops. "Attention everyone!" she exclaimed, holding out her good arm to help call for their attention. "At present, your services will not be required save for one thing. I wish for you to direct your ears to me and listen to what I have to tell you."

"Which is?" someone within the army called out.

"That everything we believe in is a lie."


	52. Chapter 51

An Alexander chapter as promised, which is mostly covers what has happened to Alexander since we last saw him, as well as set the scene for the next few chapters (which will also be Alexander-centric). This chapter turned out to be much longer than expected, with a few spur-of-the-moments material included, and touches a touchy subject, but one I felt needed some addressing in some manner, so there it is. The chapter turned out well, though, so there you go. :)

Chapter 51

However, back at the very heart of the Followers of Gemini religious sanctuary, no one had any clues that they were actually _losing _numbers, and possibly about to be forced to face a threat that would be one not to be reckoned with.

Alexander was among the oblivious, and at times, when the fact that he didn't know what was going on outside of this unusual place filled with cult-followers sank in the most, that worried him. Terra kept assuring him that Redwall wasn't going to take having one of their own kidnaped lying down and that they would come eventually. Deni supported these claims, perhaps a little too eagerly, and Alexander wondered if he was only doing that to keep Alexander from losing courage. Whatever the case, Alexander still worried that not even Redwall could resist the Followers of Gemini, and that they would be in no position to even try and come help him.

Because even though it was quite clear to the young squirrel now that the whole Gemini faith was false, they still had a great deal of numbers, and their warriors knew how to fight. The Quorum of Warriors, even though he had never seen it, sounded like quite a powerful army, at least according to what Deni and Terra had told him about it. And even if Redwall had somehow managed to drive the Quorum of Warriors back, it wouldn't be without grave casualties on their part.

It didn't really matter in the end, though. As the days went by more and more, it was pretty clear that no matter what, Alexander was on his own for now, save for the other dissenters such as Terra and Deni.

So he managed. As before, he did what was asked of him, attended the classes, and played the part of a loyal convert to the Followers of Gemini. No one seemed to suspect anything, especially the mouse teacher that had pretty much taken charge of Alexander's well-being since the beginning of the young squirrel's stay here. In fact, the teacher seemed inwardly pleased at Alexander's progress in the religion. So much so that Alexander at times felt slightly sorry that it was all a deception.

But only slightly.

As for his relations with the internal rebellion, things seemed to be going well. Alexander was introduced to the rest of the numbers finally on his third day after his arrival. They were a friendly enough bunch, composed of mostly woodlanders of varying ages, all younger by at least a full season than Terra, who was the eldest. Only a few vermin were present (apparently, they were particularly hard to get them to join the rebellion; they usually became loyal to Gemini surprisingly quickly), also of varying ages, but for being vermin species, they were more optimistic, and at times nicer, than the woodlanders. Their numbers altogether officially totaled somewhere above two dozen, which was a bit disheartening for Alexander, but Terra then explained that this wasn't all of them.

At least, per say. The others were what had been termed as "possibles." They were creatures that were either still torn about which side they were on, and couldn't favor one over the other yet, or they truly wanted out of this just as much as the rest of them, but weren't willing to take the risk by joining the rebellion, as the danger of what the rebellion was doing couldn't be emphasized enough, and therefore did what the Followers of Gemini told them, despite knowing that they didn't like it. And there were plenty of these "possibles" that the rebellion frequently attempted to get them to join them fully. But even if these possibles were included to their numbers, which boost them significantly, they would still be greatly outnumbered against the followers if it came to a conflict.

And then there was the shrew, Surt, who seemed to be on a side all of his own. He outright defied the Followers of Gemini (which made creatures such as Alexander flinch with fear for the reckless shrew whenever he did so, but luckily, Surt had been more or less ignored thus far) to the point that he had thrown a punch at his assigned teacher (a lanky fox that had been fairly recently joined the Quorum of Teachers and thus no one really knew him) and broke the fox's nose. But at the same time, while Surt supported the rebellion to the point that he would be somewhat active in their activities, he was more or less against them as well. His biggest grudge against them was the fact that in his eyes, they weren't taking any action against the Gemini followers. They didn't seem to have enough desire to get out of here. To the shrew, that was reason enough to question their loyalties.

But Surt still helped them. Somewhat. His idea of helping was causing chaos wherever he went. In addition to breaking the fox teacher's nose, Surt had also assaulted every creature that had tried to make him do something he didn't particularly want to (which would always be to no avail), was very outspoken about what he was being taught in classes, and frequently thought up wild, outrageous, and usually, quite impossible escape plans.

He usually presented these plans to Alexander, as, seeing that he knew that Alexander hadn't been here for long, he figured the young squirrel would be more likely to sympathize with him. It didn't take long for Alexander to shoot down the ideas, and knew that open rebellion wasn't going to work, and strove to try and side with the dissenters, although he was sure to try and be positive with Surt anyway. It seemed to help, although it didn't seem to change the shrew's opinions about anything.

Time went on. Alexander was officially assigned to help Deni keep an eye out for any new creatures to join the legions of Gemini. This proved to be an easy enough task, as it didn't seem any new members were coming in at present. Deni attributed it to the fact that Gemini's current target was Redwall Abbey, and that it's resources was currently being stretched thin by dealing with them. This didn't help Alexander to feel anymore optimistic, so Deni also pointed that long stretches of time could go by before any new members were added to their ranks, so he urged Alexander to not get discouraged.

At highly irregular times, they would all gather to meet, report, and plan ahead if need be. When they did, they met in secret in a special, naturally formed, underground cavern, the entrance hidden out of sight in a usually abandoned hallway of storerooms. One had to actually enter the storeroom and step into a completely unsuspecting alcove in one corner that at first glance didn't _look _deep, but actually led into the cavern when one wriggled their way in just right. Terra suspected that the cavern had been used as part of the construction of the entire sanctuary they now resided in, and had later been sealed up. That seal had eventually degraded to the point of crumbling, and the seal had broken enough for a creature to enter. It didn't seem that the Followers of Gemini knew about it, much less Gemini himself, which Terra used as evidence that the deity was completely fake. So the rebellion was pretty much free to use it.

Still, they had to be careful. Word of a meeting first had to secretly circulate through their numbers, and as you never could be certain when someone might be listening who shouldn't be, this could take as long as a day. Once word seemed to have gotten around sufficiently, the group would start arriving at the cavern...but not all at once. Usually, only about one at time, coming from anywhere between fifteen minutes to a full hour after the creature before them. They wouldn't officially meet until everyone had arrived that was going to arrive. It would take them so long to gather that they didn't do it often. Furthermore, with all of the religious practices that went on here, it was hard to find enough time to do it, without interfering with a certain creature's time schedule. Which actually doubled as an advantage, as some creatures would have to wait until they were out of classes or the such to arrive, which helped to make sure they didn't arrive at the same time as someone else.

Whatever the case, the meetings weren't frequent, nor were they very long. Since Alexander had arrived before today, there had only been two, and he had only been able to go to the latter of those two. Not because he didn't have the time...he actually had plenty of time at the moment, as it was during his lunch break, but Terra had not allowed him to join. He didn't really give a reason why, but Alexander could figure it out anyway. What was discussed in the meetings involved very sensitive information about the inner workings of the rebellion. If the Followers of Gemini were to hear any _slip _of this information, it would spell disaster for someone, if not the whole group. One had to be extremely careful who they trusted into the group or not. They were simply making sure Alexander was as trustworthy as he seemed.

By the next meeting, they were apparently satisfied, as Alexander was allowed in, escorted in by Deni who had to show him the way. So, when it came time for the following meeting, Alexander was, of course, on his way there. He knew the way, and didn't need any help. Still, he had accompaniment anyway. In the form of a particularly irritable shrew.

"I fail t' see 'ow this is goin' t' be productive." Surt grumbled as Alexander led him down the empty hallway to the sight of the meeting. As Alexander now knew where everyone met, he had been given the job of showing Surt where it was, as per Terra's instructions earlier that day. "Y'all never do anythin' that's gonna git us out o' 'ere."

"That all depends on how you look at it." Alexander pointed out, not really wanting to argue about the matter. But of course, this was a shrew he was talking to. No shrew was happy unless they had something to argue about. "It keeps us organized at least."

"Aye, but fer wot?" Surt argued. "Yeh ain't interested in gittin' out o' 'ere! Yeh just sit around on yer tails, lookin' pretty fer 'em Gemini worshipers. Wot good is that gonna do us?"

"It keeps us safe, for one thing."

"Oh, grow a spine, will yeh Alexander? Wot we need t' be doin' is fight back! Strike 'em good an' 'ard afore they git a chance t' think! We gotta take a chance!"

"But Brother Surt, we are outnumbered easily fifty to one." Alexander pressed, trying to keep his demeanor calm. Surt could really try one's patience at times. "We wouldn't stand a chance in a fight."

"Then we'd die tryin'!" Surt snapped back, then grumbled under his breath, "T'would be better than t' continue livin' this nightmare."

Alexander couldn't argue that point. He didn't want to be here anymore than he did, and by all accounts, Surt had every right to be angry. The followers had killed his father after all, and the shrew had promised revenge, something a shrew usually takes seriously. And they weren't letting him. Granted, it was for his own safety _as well _as theirs, but Surt didn't seem to care about that.

"Look, I know you want to get out of here." Alexander said, as he led the way into the storeroom in question, with was lined with wooden crates containing parchment, save for the corners, which were clear. "I do too. I want nothing more to return to Redwall Abbey and forget all of this had ever happened. But at the moment, we don't have the luxury. We fight back now, it would all be in vain. Nothing would be gained from it. The Followers of Gemini would live on, and probably act like nothing had happened, and only bring more creatures in to this fate. You don't really want that, do you?"

Surt sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Well...no." he admitted. "I want t' stop these blighters dead in their tracks. It's just...there _must _be somethin' more we can do! I ain't goin' t' let these blighters off so easily for wot they've done!" he folded his arms, as he watched Alexander step into one corner of the room. "I'm goin' t', at th' very least, t' give every last second of these creature's live a livin' h..."

"I get the idea." Alexander interrupted bluntly, annoyed. "You're just going to get yourself killed, though."

"'Or worse.'" Surt remarked with a frown, remembering Deni's constant reminders of such. The shrew shook his head. "Worse wot? Wot could be worse than death?"

"I don't know, but I assure you that Gemini knows it." Alexander remarked, and pulled Surt into the corner with him. "Now, just follow me."

In the corner they were in, right where one wall joined with the other, there was a small space barely wide enough for a creature to slip into. At a first glance, it didn't look deep. In fact, an outsider would think that no creature, regardless of size, could fit their whole body in the space, tail and all. But Alexander knew better, and so did Surt. Alexander turned sideways, and wriggled into the space as far as he could, then turned his body and used his shoulder as a wedge, and slipped even further into the space, sliding into an abrupt turn in the gap that twisted sharply to the left. Alexander carefully started to slither through this, Surt following him.

For a brief moment, they were both engulfed in darkness as they moved through this very narrow space. But only for a moment, because soon they just as quickly popped out into the cavern. It wasn't incredibly big, only about as big as the storeroom they had just left, but it was big enough to fit everyone that needed to be there. The moment Alexander stepped in, he saw that everyone else had arrived, and that they had been waiting on him and Surt. Terra, who was standing at the front of the cavern, looked back at them. Alexander nodded to him.

"Right, let's get going on this." Terra said. "Shouldn't take long. Anybody got anything they need to tell, that we need to know about?"

"The worshipers seem to have gotten particularly interested in me as of late." a tall harvestmouse spoke up, who was only a few seasons younger than Terra. "They've been putting me through more studies than usual. I was told they intend to train me to be a priest when I come of age."

Terra winced at this. "Resist." he said simply. "Do badly in those studies. Anything. Just get them to decide you aren't the creature they want. You do not want to end up in the Quorum of Priests, not if you want to continue to be a part of this rebellion."

"Why not?" Surt asked loudly.

Terra gave him a glance. "No creature here ends up in a quorum and stays our side." he explained sternly. "The Gemini worshipers do something to guarantee that every creature that goes in a quorum will not turn against them. I don't know how, but they do it." he paused, and sighed. "We've already lost two creatures to quorums before, and they both switched sides, nearly getting us caught both times. I'm not going to let that happen again. Not now." he paused and surveyed the group. "Anyone else?"

"There have been no new creatures coming in, which tells me that the focus of the worshipers has been directed elsewhere." Deni spoke up. He glanced apologetically over to Alexander. "I think the reason is Redwall, I'm sorry to say."

Terra, however, brightened at this. "We haven't heard or seen hide or tail of the Quorum of Warriors since they left for the abbey either." he pointed out. "I think those Redwallers are giving them a real run for their money at the moment, so I'm not too worried right now. Anyone else?"

"Given any more thought 'bout gettin' out o' 'ere?" Surt remarked.

"I think about it everyday, Surt." Terra replied. "But unfortunately it's not so simple. If and when I get a plan to get out of here, I'll let you know. 'Til then, just sit tight."

Surt wasn't happy to hear this, but he did not verbally protest.

"Anything else?" Terra continued.

It was then that a tentative, quiet, female weasel with silver-grey fur that was among the closest to Terra's age stepped forward, and quietly raised her paw into the air to call Terra's attention. It did indeed grab the mole's attention, but he waved it off without letting the weasel speak.

"I already know of your situation, Silverpaw, we'll talk after the meeting." Terra assured her.

The weasel, Silverpaw, nodded in understanding, and silently stepped back. Alexander watched her for a few moments, wondering what her situation was, and how Terra knew of it already. Furthermore, Silverpaw seemed at ill ease, and Alexander somehow sensed that whatever it was about her, it was important and apparently worrisome. Alexander wondered that if this was so, then why not let everyone know, so they could be aware of what danger there was. Then Alexander realized that Terra already knew about what Deni had to report, which was the lack of new arrivals. In fact, most of them did. And yet Terra hadn't prevented Deni from speaking anyway. So why stop Silverpaw? What was it that she had to say that was different?

The meeting went on while Alexander was musing. There was little else from everyone else to report. The only other real highlight was that one of their numbers, an otter named Sarias that was about Mathoni's age and was a helper in the Quorum of Healers (but not an actual member of said quorum) said that the fox teacher whose nose Surt had broken had been treated, and that the nose would heal well. She had also heard that the reaction to this broken snout was not good, and everyone agreed that the shrew had better not repeat the stunt. It was not long thereafter that the meeting drew to a close, and everyone started filing out in a similar manner to how they came in; one at a time, with great stretches of time between each creature that left.

The only two that did not prepare to leave was Terra and Silverpaw. The mole had pulled the weasel aside to a quiet corner to discuss while everyone prepared to leave. Alexander hung around, waiting for everyone else to leave, then he planned to ask Terra what the story was with Silverpaw. He tried to act inconspicuous about it, but Terra noticed anyway as the last few creatures filtered out.

"Alexander, why don't you stay behind as well?" the mole asked. "I see no reason why you can't help with this. Should probably tell at least somebody anyway."

Alexander was puzzled by this, but joined the mole and weasel in their corner of the cavern, watching the last few creatures leave. Once the last one had slithered through the gap, the young squirrel turned to Terra.

"What's this about?" he asked curiously. He pointed to Silverpaw. "Is there something wrong with her that I need to know about?"

At this Silverpaw started crying. Not seriously, just a small amount, allowing salty tears to leak from her eyes, but she was clearly saddened. She started to reply to Alexander's question, but choked on her own words and eventually gave up. Terra gave her a sympathetic look.

"Don't tell anyone this, Alexander," the mole began to explain, "but Silverpaw is mature enough now that the Followers of Gemini have selected her to go into the Quorum of Mating."

He then looked at Alexander, awaiting some kind of reaction. All Alexander had to give was a furrowed brow.

"What do you mean?" the youth asked.

"You do know what I mean by the word 'mating,' right?" Terra asked calmly, knowing that the squirrel was young enough that he might not understand.

Alexander gave it his best shot, however. "I know that the otters back home call everybody their mateys." he stated weakly.

"Not that kind of mate, the other kind."

Alexander's brow furrowed again, but this time in a slightly different way. "What do you mean?" he asked again.

Terra sought a way to explain it simply and in terms Alexander could easily comprehend without getting too detailed. "Your parents are mates, right?" he finally asked.

"You mean wed?" Alexander said. "Of course."

"And they _mated _to get you, right?"

The comprehension suddenly donned upon Alexander. "You don't mean..." he began, but trailed off, unsure how to phrase it himself, as his knowledge of the subject was limited.

"The Quorum of Mating is used to...produce offspring to add to the numbers of the Gemini worshipers." Terra explained. "They take that offspring and then raise them however they please."

"So they want Silverpaw to be one of the offspring's parents." Alexander guessed.

This sent Silverpaw into another barely controlled crying fit.

"And take her offspring, yes." Terra said, gravely. "Worse still is that they don't care about the parents there. They just throw males and females together at random, and take the resulting youth. They're treated more like pets than intelligent creatures there. The sole purpose of whomever ends up in that quorum is to give the worshipers offspring to...to...steal and raise to be like _them_." Terra growled quietly at this. "It's not right. Of all the things they could do, this is among the worse in my opinion. And it's the one thing that I won't stand by and let happen."

Alexander and Silverpaw looked at him.

"What are going to do?" the female weasel asked quietly.

"I'm going to take a page from Surt's book." Terra explained, getting down on his knees. "I'm intervening."

"And why tell me all of this?" Alexander asked, understanding now why Terra had not let it be publicly announced in the meeting.

"Because it's time someone else knew about this." Terra replied, rubbing his hefty digging claws together as if preparing to lift something.

"What do you mean?"

Terra grinned. "There's more to this cavern than what you see here."

"There is?"

Terra nodded, and bent down and grabbed at a lip in the stone floor they stood upon and pulled. The lip started to rise out of the floor, revealing that the lip in the stone that Alexander had presumed was just part of the natural formation of the rock was actually the edge of a rock that covered another tunnel. Terra removed the rock and set it to one side, then slipped into the gap he had revealed and into the narrow and dimly lit tunnel beyond.

"C'mon in you two." he told the two creatures watching him.

Silverpaw hesitantly clambered into the tunnel after the mole. Alexander followed, more curious than ever. Terra took the led, and started leading down the lengthy tunnel that led deep into the heart of the cliff the sanctuary was built out of. Alexander moved to stand beside him, visibly bubbling with questions he wanted to ask.

So Terra started explaining. "Five or so seasons ago, I found this tunnel after a meeting." he said. "Our numbers were much smaller back then, and I was under stress. So I hung behind to kind of sort things out in my head. It was then that I realized that the rock covering the entrance to this tunnel even existed. Most creatures don't even notice it, but being a mole, I'm more prone to notice these kind of things. Glad I found it, actually, because it has proven to be incredibly useful."

"Where does this lead?" Silverpaw asked, her curiosity overcoming her grief now.

"Oh, nowhere special." Terra said with a grin as they reached the tunnel's end. "Just here."

They then stepped into a massive cavern, naturally formed like the one they had left, but several times the size of it. It was big enough that their voices echoed in this cavern, and could comfortably hold twice their numbers in the rebellion. In the center of the cavern, where the rock turned into a brown dirt, several food-producing plants grew. They were all clumped together and looked to be a little overgrown, but it was clear that it was no accident that these plants where here. Four to five lanterns sat scattered around the cave showing recent use, but they were currently unneeded, for there was a hole in the roof of the cavern that allowed sunlight from outside to shine inside, shining down on the makeshift garden that grew there. At the far end of the cavern lay a pool of spring water, or possibly water collected from rainfall, though Alexander doubted the latter as the water looked too fresh to be mere residual rainfall. The cavern then jutted to the left of the pool and out of sight past the cavern's left wall, indicating that the cavern possibly went even deeper into the cliffside.

"Great seasons aplenty." Alexander murmured, impressed.

"It's so big." Silverpaw remarked. "And it looks all set for a creature to live in."

"And believe it or not, I found it exactly like how you see it now." Terra said with a proud grin. He paused long enough to put his claws to his lips and blow a shrill whistle that echoed down the length of the cavern before continuing. "The Followers of Gemini clearly don't know about it, but somebeast had to have put this together."

Alexander examined the plants in the garden, seeing the same variety of plants the followers grew back in the sanctuary. "But who?" he asked.

"I think it was other creature who were like us, and trying to rebel." Terra said. "The cave's naturally formed, and so are those springs you see back there. Further down the cavern there are some more springs that give off heat that's good for the winter, and that's all natural as well. But the rest I think rebelling creature like us put together, clearly for use. I don't know what they were planning. Maybe they wanted to hide. I don't know what happened to them either. Either they escaped, or the Followers of Gemini discovered them and dealt with them. But whatever the case, this was all left here. And I've been putting it to use."

It was then that two other maidens suddenly entered the cavern from around the turn it made to the left. They looked cautiously at Alexander and Silverpaw, but they clearly trusted Terra, so they carefully made their way towards them. One was a rat, who seemed skiddish and ready to flee if need be. The other was a badgermaid, who clearly could fight back if needed to, but she too seemed on edge. They were both older than Terra, which was a surprise, and while they wore the trademark sky blue habits of Followers of Gemini, the garments were dirtied and worn enough that it was clear both maidens had been here for awhile.

"This is Whyteflower and Slewtail." Terra introduced, pointing to the badger, then the rat. "Maidens, this is Silverpaw and Alexander."

The two maidens greeted the pair cautiously, and didn't say a word more. Terra gave them a sympathetic frown.

"They were both in the same situation as you, Silverpaw." the mole explained quietly. "Selected to be a part of the Quorum of Mating. They both wanted no part of it, and I wasn't going to let them be put through that. So...I hid them here."

"You hid them?" Alexander repeated. "Here?"

"I know, they deserve better lives than that, but they most certainly didn't deserve the fate that awaited them at the Quorum of Mating." Terra stated. "What else could I do? Besides...I didn't make the final choice...they did." he pointed at the two maidens that had been hiding here without their knowledge. He then turned to Silverpaw. "Now I'm giving you the same choice, Silverpaw."

* * *

Silverpaw, the two maidens Whyteflower and Slewtail, and Terra, talked about the matter for awhile, but it didn't take long for Sliverpaw to decide. She was quick to decide that she would rather stay here than be a part of the Quorum of Mating, and she didn't want to have any part of unwillingly adding to the numbers of the Followers of Gemini. Once she made that choice, Terra left the weasel to talk with the badger and rat that would be her roommates so to speak. Alexander joined the mole, watching the three converse.

"How long have you been doing this, Terra?" the squirrel finally asked.

"Awhile." Terra replied. "Whyteflower has been in here for four seasons. Slewtail has been here for only two. It's not the best of lives for them, but I visit them frequently, and they get along better than you might think, actually. They're safe here. That's all that really matters to them anyway."

"But...the Gemini worshipers," Alexander began, "didn't they notice when they went missing?"

"Of course they did, and it caused a great hubbub each time. But they don't know this cavern is here, so they can't ever find them, and they have no evidence to accuse anyone of helping them to hide or escape. So eventually they just drop the subject, publicizing some explanation that suppositively comes from Gemini himself that explains their absence, and life goes on." Terra shook his head. "Regardless, they're still at risk. If word of this place were to ever get out, it would mean death for them _and _me for defying the will of Gemini. That's why all the secrecy, Alexander. Trusting a creature with knowledge about the rebellion is one thing, but trusting one with this secret is quite another."

"How many _do _know?" Alexander asked. "Does Deni know?"

"No, he doesn't." Terra replied. "In fact, the only other creature who knows this place even exists besides them..." he jerked his head at the maidens, "...and me is you now, Alexander."

The young squirrel was shocked. "But...why tell me?" he asked.

"Because Alexander, you're like me." Terra said, bending down to be at the same eye level as the squirrel. "You see things in a different light from the others, you understand things in ways that they don't, you know and comprehend just how bad the things the Followers of Gemini do here. Like I said, you're very smart for your age, and you probably don't even realize it."

"But...but...why tell me?" Alexander repeated. "Especially now, when I'm so young?"

"I was older than you when I found this cavern..." Terra admitted, "...but not by much. Besides, in my opinion, age doesn't matter. You know what to do about this. Besides, your heart's in the right place, Alexander, I know I can trust you with this secret. Besides..." Terra sighed, "...there's one other secret I have, and that's the fact that I know that sometime soon, I'm probably going to have to join these maidens down here in hiding."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm about to come of age, Alexander, and when I do, they're going to want to put me into a quorum. And I want not part in any of their quorums, especially the one they have in mind for me."

"Why, which quorum is it?" Alexander asked. "The Quorum of Priests?"

"No, they want to put me in one even more prestigious than that, one of their most powerful and most loyal quorums of all." Terra explained. "The Quorum of Teachers."


	53. Chapter 52

More Alexander material, continuing on from last chapter. Next chapter will be similar, follow the same trend you see here.

Chapter 52

Alexander felt he had enough secrets to keep track of already. Such has keeping secret his involvement with the rebellion, and the plans of that rebellion, as well as some more minor secrets that he had before coming here, which were certainly more trivial given everything else. Regardless, Alexander still considered them secrets, and not things he'd go babbling about needlessly, like various embarrassing moments from his rather short lifetime, and who _really _stole and ate the giant apple pie from Redwall's last feast. He felt he didn't really need anymore secrets than that.

And yet, he now had the quite heavy weight of Terra's secret of the hidden chamber with the missing maidens to carry on his shoulders. Not to mention the slightly lesser secret that the Followers of Gemini wanted to make Terra a member of the Quorum of Teachers, which worried Alexander to no end. Terra made it sound like a bad thing, like there would be no turning back for him is the worshipers succeeding, and Alexander could believe it. He knew how the teachers all acted; very calm and collected, passionately loyal to Gemini and the deity's religion, and not the least bit afraid to punish the wicked.

And Terra was anything but this. Alexander worried that if and when the Gemini worshipers attempted to have Terra join the quorum, they'd discover what the mole had been up to, and not only would everything the rebellion had been working for be lost, but Terra would likely lose his life. Or worse, and be forced somehow to _truly _converted to the demented religion they were reluctantly tied to. These fears were not helped by the fact that Terra was clearly thinking the same thing, or he wouldn't be contemplating joining the maidens Whyteflower, Slewtail, and now Silverpaw.

But Terra assured him to not worry about that for now. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it. But Alexander was still expected to keep it secret and it was...well...hard. Particularly when he met up with Deni later that day. The grey squirrel had rapidly become a friend to Alexander, and Alexander didn't want to have to keep any secrets from his newfound friend. But he knew and understood Terra's reasons for maintaining the secret, and also knew that by not keeping the secret he would, among other things, ruin the mole's apparently profound trust in the young squirrel.

So he managed to not tell Deni, nor anyone else he met and asked what he did that day.

And the rest of the day, and the night that followed, went on as normal, or as normal as things got in the sanctuary of the Followers of Gemini. That changed when the following morning arose, and the worshipers finally realized that Silverpaw had gone missing. They quickly began to search the sanctuary once classes began for the day, thinking she was hiding somewhere. They did this quietly, not really spreading word of what they were doing, but questions started to arise from among the students, and Alexander put two with two instantly, and grew nervous as a result.

Eventually, it was clear that something had happened to Silverpaw to make her go missing, and so the Followers of Gemini switched tactics, and started interrogating creatures seemingly at random, asking if they knew the young weaselmaid's whereabouts. Naturally, no one did save for Terra and Alexander, and Terra wasn't telling. Alexander wasn't planning on it either, but when the mouse teacher that watched over him came to ask him about Silverpaw's whereabouts, the young squirrel grew too nervous to keep a straight face as he quite poorly tried to tell the teacher that he knew nothing. The teacher wasn't buying it, however, so Alexander quickly came up with an alternate cover story, and admitted that he had seen Silverpaw break away from everyone else after dinner and go someplace else, emphasizing and he didn't know where that was at all.

The mouse teacher believed this cover story, and ended the discussion then and there for Alexander. But it caused the search for Silverpaw become more determined, and certain creatures were began to be interrogated more thoroughly afterwards. Some of them were members of the rebellion, which made Alexander worry that the followers were now interrogating those who they had reason to suspect might have had a paw in things. Fortunately, though, neither of them were Alexander and Terra, and therefore, there was no one else who would know Silverpaw's whereabouts, so the Gemini worshipers grew no closer to solving the mystery.

Finally, they organized search parties from members of the quorums, and they were sent to search for the missing weasel outside. They, of course, weren't finding any trace of her out there, though, as Silverpaw had technically never left the sanctuary. They weren't going to find anything at all, they were looking in entirely the wrong way. Though, that still didn't mean the danger wasn't over yet, as Alexander knew the followers weren't going to just drop the subject.

So he was feeling naturally nervous about the whole matter.

And apparently it showed.

"Yeh worried 'bout somethin' Alexander?" Surt asked at lunch, after a half day of the search going on. "Yeh look like ye're 'bout t' faint." he paused, and tilted his head as he studied Alexander, who was trying to not make eye contact. "Either that, or throw up. Yeh ain't sick, are yeh?"

Alexander mumbled incoherently to himself for a moment, poking at his food with a complete lack of want to eat it. "I might as well be." he finally replied.

"All this interrogatin' gettin' t' yeh as well?"

"...aye."

"Aye, me too." the shrew sighed, shooting a glare across the cafeteria where one teacher was in the process of interrogating a creature, no one they knew, right now. "Gettin' real annoyin', so it is. Don't 'elp any that they've gone an' interrogated me three whole times now. I mean, can yeh believe that?"

Alexander could, given the shrew's outspoken character. But he wasn't going to comment on that matter.

"So 'ow many times 'ave they interrogated yeh?" Surt asked next.

"Once." Alexander stated without hesitation, and was glad it had managed to stay to that.

"Once." Surt repeated. "Yeh've been lucky, so yeh 'ave, curse Gemini." he spat the name venomously, using it as a curse, his new favorite thing to do. Anything to defile the deity they were supposed to worship, and that so many had been killed over. "Can't say I 'ave. Must think I know somethin', but I really don't, though I'd be more than 'appy t' fight over th' matter." he grinned for a moment, then continued musing the matter. "Dunno if I even know this Silverpaw. Ain't she part o' our liddle group? Ah well, she clearly 'ad sense t' git out o' 'ere when she did, though where she went is anybeast's guess. Wish I knew where she went an' 'ow she got there." he shook his head. "Once." he repeated again. "Float me boat, Alexander, I dunno wot yeh're so worked up 'bout if they've only interrogated yeh once. If they 'aven't done it again since, I 'ighly doubt they would again. Not unless they think fer some reason yeh ain't tellin' 'em everythin'." he paused at this, suddenly looking thoughtful. "Yeh ain't, right?" he asked.

Alexander glanced up at him. "Oh," he said, "of course not."

"Yeh don't know anythin' more about this Silverpaw than I do?"

"No, don't think so."

Alexander thought he was pulling off some pretty good lies during this, but apparently to a shrew who's probably spent every hour of his life lying at least once, they were easy to see through, because Surt suddenly narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Alexander. The squirrel grew nervous and shifted uncomfortably.

"Really, I don't." he repeated to the shrew.

Surt didn't seem convinced. "Really." he muttered skeptically. "Yeh don't."

"I don't."

"Then wot yeh got t' be all worked up 'bout?"

"I'm miles from home, being forcibly taught a religion I don't even believe in, and might not have a home to come home to. How can I _not _be worked up?"

"Yeh're more uncomfortable 'bout th' matter than yeh were th' other day, then."

Alexander continued to shift uncomfortably. "There are a great many things I still need to work to keep secret, you know." he pointed out. "Lots of secrets."

"Secret_s_ hmm?" Surt asked, putting extra emphasis on the word's plural tense, looking victorious. "How many secrets could yeh possibly 'ave t' worry 'bout?"

"Lots, I'll have you know!"

"An' none o' 'em 'ave anythin' t' do with a certain missin' weaselmaid?"

"No!"

"Then why are yeh shiftin' around so much like an young'un needin' t' go?"

Alexander paused, and realized he _had _been shifting around quite guiltily. He gave Surt an annoyed and frustrated look. "I can't tell you." he finally stated, hoping to end the matter then and there.

The shrew brightened at this. "So yeh really _do _know where Silver..."

"Shh!" Alexander quickly shushed, looking around nervously. Once he was certain that no one was listening, he leaned closer to the shrew and lowered his voice. "Look, she's in a safe place, all right? They won't find her there. I'm not going to tell you anything more than that, though. It's a secret."

"More secret than our liddle schemin' plots t' work against th' Followers of Gemini?" Surt inquired cheerfully, apparently pleased to learn this much about the secret he had discovered.

"As a matter of fact, it is. Only two creatures know about it, and I'm one of them."

"Who's th' other?" Surt wanted to know everything he could about this secret, apparently, even though it wasn't his place to know.

"Terra." Alexander replied instantly and without thinking. "And he want's it kept quiet, so _tell no one_."

"Well, why not?" Surt demanded. "I think I 'ave a right t' know!"

"Surt...there's a very good reason why I can't tell you!"

"Then just tell me, an' I'll know wot it is!"

"It doesn't work like that."

"Oh, I see, I git it now, yeh don't trust me."

Alexander winced, but he knew better than to try and deny it. "Admittedly...yes."

"I knew it."

"But Surt, can't you see why? You get in trouble with the Followers of Gemini everyday! They don't trust you either! We can't risk telling you something so secret if there's such a high risk of that secret getting out."

"Alexander, th' only reason I'm even still 'ere puttin' up with this whole mess is because o' yer liddle rebellion, an' th' 'ope it'll git me outta 'ere, sooner rather than later! Now yeh tell me, _is that goin' t' 'appen_?"

Alexander hesitated, and didn't reply, knowing he couldn't give the answer Surt was looking for. Escape just didn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. But he knew how the shrew would react when he was told this, so he hesitated from saying it. Unfortunately, Surt didn't need to be told.

"That's wot I thought." Surt grumbled, picking up his tray and rising from the table. "Fine, then. T' 'eck with yer liddle lot, I'll just do things me own way."

"Surt, you can't!" Alexander said, moving to stop the shrew as he started to walk away.

"Watch me, Alexander!" the shrew snapped, shrugging off the squirrel's paw, and marching off, leaving Alexander alone at the table. He quickly vanished into the midst of the many bodies that were currently in the room.

Alexander cradled his head in despair. "What have I done?" he murmured.

* * *

He found out sooner than he would've liked.

Later, after classes had resumed, it was clear that Surt was planning something. Thankfully, the shrew was in the same class as he and Deni, and was there for Alexander to watch closely. Technically, Surt, being a couple seasons older, should be in a more advanced class with creatures that were his age, but the shrew quickly proved he couldn't (or wouldn't) keep up with the lessons, so he kept getting bumped down to easier and easier classes until finally he arrived in Deni and Alexander's class. He couldn't go much lower than this, Alexander suspected, not without the followers finally catching on that Surt was probably and purposely refusing to learn, but he still could, and probably would eventually, but for now, he was here, and for Alexander, this was where he wanted the shrew, until he knew whatever it was Surt planned to "do things his way."

And as was already noted, he didn't need to wait long.

At the moment, their hare teacher was in the middle of explained how the Quorum of Priests worked. "Their job," she was saying, "is to exercise the various rituals that periodically need to be preformed so to remain in Gemini's favor. A most notable one is the offerings of the choice pickings from the crops we harvest and present to Gemini to take. Such things, we have learned, are pleasing to him, and..."

"Boooring!" Surt suddenly and loudly called out.

Even though hardly anything ever bothered the class and distracted it from the lesson, this brought everything to a halt, and everyone turned to look at the shrew in surprise.

"Excuse me?" the hare asked.

"Yeh heard me." Surt remarked. "It's borin'. Th' whole lot of it."

"I fail to understand." the hare remarked, calmly. "I do not find the teachings of Gemini to be boring."

"See, that's th' problem!" Surt said, standing up. "Yeh don't think that 'cause yer brainwashed t' believe in this junk!"

Several of the students, including Alexander and Deni, winced at this comment, and all eyes turned to the hare teacher to see her reaction. She was surprising composed.

"Please sit down, Brother Surt, and we will continue." she instructed calmly.

"But I ain't sittin' down 'til I've made a few things clear!" Surt objected.

"I am not interested in what you have to say." the hare replied.

"Well, yeh better be!" Surt snapped. "I don't like it 'ere, an' I ain't the only 'un!"

The hare suddenly looked at him as if quite interested, and Alexander felt his stomach drop, wishing Surt hadn't said that.

"Really?" the hare asked. "Such as?"

"None o' yer business! But I want out o' 'ere! I don't believe in this Gemini fellow, or wot yeh claims he teaches yeh! I wanted no part o' this from th' beginnin'! I ain't worth it t' yeh, anyway! So if yeh let me go, I'll get out o' yer fur, once an' fer all!"

Finally, the hare narrowed her eyes, and she advanced upon the shrew. The class watched with baited breath, wondering what would happen next.

"You will do no such thing, Brother Surt, even if you were allowed to leave." the hare commented coldly. "You would bring back an army and try to attack us." she gave the shrew a very leveled glare. "You would fail, as well."

"Try me." Surt barked. "I'm willin'. I'll fight yeh all t' me dyin' breath."

"Would you now."

"Anythin' t' avenge me father." the shrew was now returning the glare. "Th' likes o' yeh are wot killed 'im, after all."

"He was a wicked creature, and was refusing to repent."

"He was no such thing, an' yeh know it too, don't yeh? He never did a thing t' 'arm anybeast! But _you_, yeh an' this whole lot yeh've got, yeh've truly _'ave _done things worth gittin' murdered fer."

"Hold your tongue, shrew. I will not allow you to speak such wicked things in my classroom."

"I jolly well will speak wot I want!"

"Not here. Gemini will not permit it. He will punish you severely if you continue, shrew."

"Gemini couldn't fry an egg!"

"I said hold your tongue!"

"Why? Yeh finally realizin' I'm '_wicked_' too?"

"Like father, like son."

This was entirely the wrong thing to say to Surt. Alexander couldn't help but gasp as the shrew grew more angry than he had ever seen him before.

"Yeh...take...that...back." the shrew growled, barely staying calm to even speak.

"No. You need to know the truth. Your father was no creature to respect, and had no honor, being as wicked as he was. No creature should even give him another thought..."

The next thing anyone knew, the shrew was on the hare, and had the much larger beast tackled to the floor, pounding every square inch of body the shrew could get at. The class all arose at once and was quickly panicking, but didn't know what else to do but stand there and watch. But the hare knew how to fight as well, probably better than Surt did, and despite initially being caught off guard, she quickly worked to hold back the worse of Surt's attack long to get both footpaws under the shew and kick once with her powerful legs. Surt was instantly sent into the air, failing wildly, then hit the stone floor hard on his side. Dazed, the shrew struggled to get back up again and continue the fight, muttering colorful curses, but the hare wasn't going to let it go that far, and stepped forward, and with one strike knocked Surt out cold. The shrew crumbled and fell to the floor and did not move.

Not even panting, the hare stood over him for a moment, then glanced around at her class. All eyes were on her, looking somewhat frightened, especially know that they knew what this creature was capable of.

The hare wasn't worried however. "Please be seated." she calmly requested, walking up purposely up to the front of the room, leaving Surt where he lay.

The class reluctantly sat, all eyes watching the hare as she pulled a cord that hung in one corner of the room. It rang a little bell somewhere nearby. A second later, two teachers, a dormouse and a rat, entered the classroom.

The hare pointed at Surt's limp body. "Remove him, please, and take him back to his room." she requested. "Inform his teacher that he requires more attention, immediately. We should have done it sooner."

The two teachers nodded, and stepped forward and picked up Surt, dragging the shrew out of the room.

"Surt..." Alexander began, turning in his seat to watch the shrew be dragged out.

He went to stand without thinking, but Deni stopped him, and gently shook his head. He knew that there was no helping Surt now.

Alexander silently understood, and remained seated. He looked quite upset. "Deni, what can we do?" he whispered, as the hare resumed her spot at the front of the room to resume teaching.

"Pity him." Deni replied. "And worry for our own well being." he glanced away from his squirrel friend. "It's all we can do, Alexander."

The class then resumed like nothing had happened.


	54. Chapter 53

Again, picking up from where the last chapter left off. Some important things happen to take note of. I think it shouldn't be hard to guess the basics of what will happen next chapter. ;)

Chapter 53

Later that night, after dinner, Alexander, Deni, and Terra all met up to discuss the matter of Surt, who had not been seen since he was dragged out of the classroom. Alexander was immensely worried about what might have happened to him, and asked repeatedly if there was anything they could do. Unfortunately, Terra, like Deni, saw that there wasn't much they could do.

"It's out of our paws, Alexander, as much as I hate to admit it." the mole remarked gravely. "We warned Surt not to cause trouble, but he did anyway. He brought it down upon himself."

"No, _I _brought it down upon him." Alexander said, feeling guilty. "We had an argument, and I admitted that Surt couldn't be trusted with some secrets, and I think he took it personally. It was what drove him to act like he did and get himself in even more trouble. Because of me."

"Don't think like that, Alexander!" Deni urged, placing a paw on his friend's shoulder. "Surt is just hot-headed and easily offended. It's his fault for letting something like that get to him. Beside, he didn't know what would happen, and, furthermore, you told him the truth."

Alexander wasn't very reassured. He sighed heavily, then glanced at Terra. "What will happen to him?" he asked.

Now Terra sighed. "Nothing good." he admitted. "It's either one of two possibilities. They either kill him, or they'll let him live, but he wouldn't be Surt anymore."

"How can that be?" Alexander asked. "How...how can they make someone not be who they truly are?"

"I don't know, nor do I hope to ever find out." Terra remarked with a frown.

"I'm more worried about us." Deni remarked. "Do we have reason to fear now that they have Surt? What if they interrogate him...?"

"If they were going to learn something from him, they would've done it and would've acted accordingly by now." Terra said. "I see no reason for them to delay the matter. Unless they're purposely making us nervous."

"Or they're trying to give us a false sense of security." Deni added, looking nervous himself. "Then they'll pounce when we're least expecting it."

Terra considered this for a few moments. "It all really depends on what they do to Surt." he finally admitted. "If they kill him, then I think we have little to worry about except the tragic fact that Surt is indeed dead. But if they don't..." he shook his head. "Like I said before, there isn't much we can do about it now. But keep an eye out for Surt. Let's see if he'll turn back up again, and then we'll worry about it."

* * *

So that was what they did. All three of them, as well as any members of the rebellion they happened to cross paths with and were able to inform them of the situation. Surt was not seen for the rest of the evening, however.

But in the morning...that changed.

Alexander had arisen that morning without incident, and was actually feeling a bit proud of himself, as he had gotten up on time and without requiring the mouse teacher to wake him up for a change. In fact, he hadn't seen any teacher as of yet this morning, which seemed doubly good. So Alexander, feeling quite pleased with himself, got up, got dressed, and went to the cafeteria to get breakfast, serving himself up a rather larger helping of the bland food than he normally would have. He was sitting peacefully at his usual table, waiting for Deni to arrive, eating in the meantime, when he heard someone clear his throat behind the squirrel.

"Ahem, Brother Alexander, may I sit here?"

Alexander froze, and couldn't reply. He recognized the voice, but at the same time, it sounded very alien to him. He almost didn't dare turn around, but he did anyway. The creature stood behind him quite innocently, looking to be perfectly harmless as he stood there with a smooth and clean sky-blue habit, carefully groomed fur and perfect posture, waiting ever so patiently to here Alexander's answer.

It was Surt.

Alexander simply stared at him for a very long moment, not entirely trusting what his eyes were seeing. This didn't seem to bother Surt in the slightest.

"May I sit here, Brother Alexander?" he politely repeated, his speech completely void of the shrew accent of old.

Alexander was still too shocked to give an answer to the question. "Surt?" he asked in amazement.

"Yes?" Surt asked, as he sat down anyway, sitting quite carefully so to not wrinkle his habit.

"Surt?" Alexander repeated.

"Yes?" Surt again responded, placing his tray carefully on the table so sat neatly upon it, matching the neatly organized food that sat upon it as well.

"_Surt?_" Alexander repeated one last time."

"Yes?" Surt repeated once more, using the same tone he had before, without a single hint of annoyance mixed in.

Alexander could simply sit there and watch as Surt pulled out a napkin, carefully unfolded it, then neatly placed it in his lap before picking his silverware, holding them correctly in his paws, and went to eat his breakfast in a very well-mannered method.

Finally, Alexander found his voice. "What happened to you?" he managed to get out in a hoarse whisper.

"Whatever do you mean, Brother Alexander?" Surt asked calmly. "I am the same as always, am I not?"

At this, Alexander emphatically shook his head. "Where have you been since classes yesterday? What have you been doing?"

At this, Surt looked a little embarrassed. "Getting a good scolding." he admitted. "I acted very rashly yesterday, don't you agree? But I have learned my lesson now, it will not happen again."

Alexander just stared at him.

"Hello, Alexander." Deni said as he suddenly strolled up with his own tray of food. "Who this that you're talk–" the grey squirrel trailed off when he got a good look at Surt, and recognized the shrew almost instantly, although he clearly couldn't believe it, either.

"Good morning, Brother Denarius." Surt remarked politely to the new arrival to the table. "You would care to join us?"

"_Surt?_" Deni remarked in amazement, much like how Alexander had reacted.

Surt's response was still the same. "Yes?" he asked, using an identical tone to the one he had used with Alexander when addressing him.

Deni didn't reply, and simply set his tray down on the table, then dropped his body heavily into a seat beside Alexander. The two squirrels then stared at the transformed shrew, just astounded, and unsure what to make of it. This didn't seem to bother Surt in the slightest, as he simply sat there and kept eating.

"Wha..." Deni finally managed to get out, trembling slightly, "How...I mean...I know they can...but...but...how...and to Surt of all creatures..." he started shaking his head, "They...they..."

Alexander understood what it was Deni was trying to say, but wasn't ready to admit it. "Surt, what happened to you?" he asked. "What have they done to you? You...you...aren't really going to be like this, are you? I mean, this is just an...an...act, right?"

"An act?" Surt seemed genuinely puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"By the paw, Surt, speak like a normal shrew!" Alexander snapped suddenly, annoyed at Surt's total lack of use of an accent. "Use your accent!"

"Why?" Surt asked, still seeming genuinely puzzled. "Rather improper way to speak that way, you know."

"What's the name of your tribe, Surt?" Deni asked quickly, stopping Alexander from speaking further, who looked ready to start yelling. "Tell me."

Surt refused. "It does not matter what my tribe was." he remarked with a shake of his head.

"It doesn't?"

"Not to Gemini, hallowed be his name."

Alexander closed his eyes and held back a wince. Surt was one of them now.

"What did they do to you, Surt?" Deni asked, crestfallen now. He blinked as a worse thought came to mind. "What did you tell them?"

"It depended on what they asked me." Surt replied innocently.

"_What did you tell them, Surt?_" Deni pressed more urgently this time. "Not about the rebellion?"

"Of course I did." Surt remarked, as if he couldn't see at al the seriousness of this. "There is no need to keep secrets here. Therefore, I told the truth."

It was then that Alexander caught sight of a long stream of teachers pouring into the room, blocking the exit on that side of the room as they started to slowly filter through the room, going from table to table, grabbing certain creatures as they passed them and restraining them. They were all members of the rebellion.

Deni saw this as well. "What?" he was paling now. "What have you _done_ Surt?"

"I did what Gemini wanted me to do." Surt replied calmly, convincing Alexander that the shrew no longer knew what he was doing. "I told the truth."

"Attention, everybeast!" one of the teachers called out suddenly, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room as the other teachers continued going through the room, picking out members of the rebellion. "We require the presence of the following creatures! Terra, Silverpaw, Alexander, Sarias, Denarius,..."

Alexander and Deni exchanged the briefest of glances. There was time enough to see in each others eyes to confirm what it was they needed to do. The only thing they could do. They fled, grabbing their trays, and bolting for the other exit on the opposite side of the cafeteria. This of course did not go unnoticed. Startled by their sudden departure, Surt called out to them as they raced off, and more than one teacher caught sight of them and moved to intercept.

Several of the other youth in the chamber twisted around in their seats to watch them run, some even reaching out with their paws to grab at the two fleeing squirrels' habits, but Alexander and Deni were able to continue on their way unhindered for the moment. Other members of the rebellion followed their example and made a break for it as well, but they acted either too late, or other creatures caught up with them too quickly. One made for a window to try and break it and climb out the resulting hole, but was stopped before getting too far.

Alexander and Deni apparently had luck on their side for the moment, however, because they were able to keep running, and eventually reached the door they were heading for. Two creatures moved to block their way, but the two squirrels simply flung their food-laden trays in their faces, shoving them out of the way long enough to slip past them and out the door. They ran as fast as they could and did not look back, not needing to look to know that they were being chased...

* * *

As luck would have it, Terra was not in the cafeteria when this incident occurred, but rather in the meeting cave for the rebellion. Actually, to be even more specific than that, he was taking breakfast to the three maidens in the hidden cavern that connected to the meeting cave, and to check to see that Silverpaw was adjusting okay, wishing there was something more he could do for them.

He was just exiting the secret passage leading into the meeting cave when he heard the sound of someone shuffling around outside the meeting cave's entrance in the storeroom. Quickly, he hurried to the narrow entrance and listened to the voices he heard speaking.

"Where is it?"

"Over here, I can just barely see the entrance from here."

"Just as Gemini had instructed."

"Yes, to think these wicked, rebellious, creatures thought they could out think him."

Terra's eyes widened as he heard creatures squeezing into the space. The cave had been discovered by the worshipers.

Yet, when the two intruders had finally slipped into the cave, and looked around, Terra was nowhere to be found in that cave.

At least, as much of the cave that they could find.

* * *

Alexander and Deni kept running. Luck was still on their side; as it was breakfast time in the sanctuary, there weren't many creatures wandering in the halls, so they encountered no one as they ran. But running would only take them so far, and Alexander knew that.

"Where are we going?" Alexander called, who was really following Deni.

"The main entrance!" Deni called back, puffing as he ran. "We've got to get outside and find someplace to hide!"

"Hide...no wait!" Alexander said. "We should head for the meeting cave! There's a secret cavern there, and..."

"No time, and besides, to reach it, we would have to go back the way we came!" Deni exclaimed, shooting down the idea. "Besides, Surt knew about the cave, the followers are going to know about it now, too! Our best bet is to head outside!"

"But even out there we don't stand much of a chance!" Alexander objected.

"I know!" Deni called back. He was aware of the odds.

They kept running, the distance from the cafeteria to the entrance of the sanctuary seeming to be much longer than it should be. Behind them, a party of teachers, totaling in number to five, was chasing them, slowly catching up to them, but not enough to stop the two fleeing youth. Alexander knew that if they stopped for even a second, though, those pursuers would be on top of them in a heartbeat. So he wasn't counting on stopping at all.

But just as they two finally burst into the entry hall and raced for the large wooden doors that barred their way to the outdoors, a creature stepped out from the shadows of the room and directly into their path.

It was the mouse teacher that was put in charge of Alexander, and had condemned Redwall.

Gripping his staff tightly, the mouse swung it at the two fleeing youths as they charged towards him, having had not enough time to register the mouse was there, barring their path, and change course. Footpaws skidding on the smooth stone, Deni quickly side-stepped the swing, and Alexander went to duck under the teacher's outstretched arm. He was just about past when the young squirrel felt a paw latch onto the back of his habit and jerk him to a halt. Alexander kept trying to run, trying to pull free from the mouse teacher's grip, but the teacher's grip was strong, and all Alexander managed to do was scrape the claws on his footpaws noisily on the floor.

Deni, being further away from the teacher and therefore out of the mouse's reach, managed to slip past and continued for the double doors, probably unaware as of yet that Alexander could no longer follow. He would've reached those doors too, had the mouse teacher not quickly taken his staff and threw it at Deni like a spear. As it had no spearhead or any other kind of blade, all the staff do was hit Deni hard enough to make the grey squirrel stumble and fall, but it didn't need to do anything more than that. The other teachers that had been chasing the two had finally caught up by this point. One stopped to help restrain Alexander who was thrashing about angrily and in a blind panic, while the other hurried forward to grab Deni, who started fighting back himself.

It was of no use for either of them, however. There were too many, and they were both quickly overpowered and unwillingly dragged apart from each other.

"Deni!" Alexander called in dismay as he was dragged one way and Deni was dragged the other. "Deni! No! Deni!"

"Alexander!" Deni called back, claws scampering on the floor as he tried to prevent being dragged further back. "Alexander! Just...just keep fighting! Don't give in! Don't!"

He was silence when one of the teachers restraining him covered his mouth with her paw. Deni got the paw to be removed from his mouth by biting it hard enough to draw blood, but by the time he had, he and Alexander had been moved too far apart, only getting just enough time to give each other one last look before Deni was dragged around a corner and Alexander was taken up the staircase that sat in the entry hall. By that point, Alexander lost his will. He still struggled, but much more feebly, knowing that it would take a miracle to be saved from this fate now.

He was dragged all the way back to his bedchambers. Once inside, and the door tightly shut behind them, the mouse teacher broke away and moved to a small bedside table that sat in the room and started working discreetly with something there. The other teacher that helped restrain Alexander long enough to get him here shoved Alexander down onto his knees and held him there. Alexander tried to resist, but it was to no avail.

"You have disappointed me, Alexander." the mouse teacher remarked coldly, pulling out a corked flask from a satchel he carried and removing said cork. "I thought you were making some real progress towards repenting, too. I had high hopes for you, Alexander."

"Yes, and here's hoping I've dashed them all to pieces." Alexander spat back bitterly. "You had no right to take me here!"

"You are sheltered from wickedness here."

"No, the wickedness _is _here! I was better off at Redwall!"

"Proving just how truly hardhearted you have become." The mouse poured some of the contents of the bottle into a plain wooden goblet. Even from where Alexander was, he could get a good whiff of the powerful alcohol that the liquid contained. "But that is why we are here, Alexander. We are going to change that, much the same way we changed things for your rebellious shrew friend." he sighed as he turned around, the goblet in paw. "I wish it didn't come to this, Alexander. I don't wish to punish you."

"Then don't." Alexander barked.

The teacher ignored the comment. "But wickedness cannot prevail against the forces of Gemini." he continued with his comments. "Gemini will always succeed in defeating the wicked, even if it must use force to do it."

He then pressed the goblet to Alexander's lips, trying to force the potent drink into Alexander's mouth. The squirrel resisted, keeping his jaw firmly shut, and his lips pressed tightly together. He would've succeeded, too, were it not for the other teacher restraining him suddenly grabbing the squirrel's jaw and forcing it open against Alexander's will, allowing the drink to gush into Alexander's mouth. Caught off guard by the liquid's sudden presence, Alexander at first gagged, then tried to spit the drink back out, but the restraining teacher quickly shut the squirrel's mouth and pressed a paw over it, and the squirrel's nose, preventing him from breathing. Alexander still tried to spit the liquid out of his mouth, feeling it sting his tongue and cheeks as it remained stagnant in his mouth, but only succeeding in letting much-too-small rivulets trickle out from around the edges of his mouth.

The urge to breath grew severe, and as Alexander could no longer breath through his nose, that only left his mouth, and in order to breath through there, he would first have to clear his mouth of the liquid that filled it or he would suffocate. He wanted to spit it out, but the paw that was pressed firmly against his lips prohibited that. The only other option was to swallow. Alexander tried his hardest to keep from doing that, but eventually, his body's instincts took over and he swallowed a large portion of the unwanted fluid without thinking, quickly followed by a quick gasp of air.

The drink burned as it traveled down Alexander's throat, and almost instantly upon reaching his stomach did Alexander begin to feel incredibly woozy. The mouse teacher pressed the goblet to the squirrel's lips again to repeat the process. Alexander again tried to resist, but struggled to focus well enough, and couldn't put up as much of a fight, and again unintentionally ended up ingesting more of the strange liquid, not helping at all in the matter. Through this process, the two teachers got Alexander to unwillingly down the whole goblet's worth of the drink.

By that point, Alexander had become more than woozy; he was also dizzy, disoriented, and becoming increasingly lethargic. His stomach was continually squeezing and squirming uncomfortably as the unwanted liquid swirled around in his belly, making him feel sick enough to vomit, only he didn't have enough strength or will to do that even. At some point, the teacher restraining the young squirrel had released him. The world spun several times, and for a moment, Alexander couldn't tell what was up and down. The next thing he knew, he had toppled over onto the stone floor and lay there on his side, blankly staring across the floor, between the mouse teacher's footpaws, to the opposite wall. He felt drool drip out of the corner of his mouth, his tongue lolling unceremoniously out of his jaw, but he couldn't find the mental power to change that, to correct that.

Alexander's first, disoriented, impression about all of this was that the clearly highly alcoholic drink had made him drunk; but then these symptoms were becoming much more than being merely drunk, or so Alexander thought. In addition to all of the aforementioned symptoms, his eyes were also blurry, creating ghost images in his vision of objects that couldn't possibly be truly there, and all the sounds he heard sounded painfully loud, and had a distorted echo to them. He had begun sweating profusely, and had lost nearly all motor control over his body. And yet his mind, though still fairly groggy in it's own right, was clear enough that he could think about all of this, and register all of this. It was enough for Alexander to realize that there had to be something else besides alcohol in that drink, some kind of drug, but he couldn't think of what it might be.

He was suddenly aware that the mouse teacher was moving back and forth, and speaking quite professionally. After a moment of listening, Alexander realized the teacher was reciting the teachings of Gemini for him to listen to, and suddenly the method to all of this madness came together; how the Followers of Gemini had managed to change Surt from the rebellious shrew to a proper and well-mannered convert overnight. It was the drugged drink. Drug the poor creature to the point that they reach this mentally-unstable state, then bombard them with the teachings of Gemini until it starts sticking, as the creature wouldn't have the mental defenses to resist. Eventually, those teachings would be burned into the creature's brain. To the point that they would consider it true doctrine, and believe it and follow it.

Alexander thought it was devilishly clever and ingenious of them to think up such a plan, in addition to being outright cruel. He wanted to fight it, to find someway to resist and keep this plan from working on him, but the whatever was in that drink, it was doing it's job well. He had the mental power to realize all of this, and to hear and comprehend the teacher's words, but not a thing more. He had no power left to resist. He could simply lie there and take in the teachings of Gemini through forced osmosis at best. He could do nothing else.

The world was spinning again, even though Alexander was fairly confident he wasn't actually moving this time. The room degraded into a swirl of colors for a long moment. Alexander blinked his eyes a few times to try and clear his vision, and it helped, and things reformed back into something he could make sense of. His eyes suddenly locked onto the footpaws of a third creature that was now in the room, standing somewhere behind the mouse teacher, who was still droning on. For a moment, Alexander couldn't identify the creature the new set of footpaws belonged to, but out of the blue, he realized they must belong to a mouse. The said mouse pointed his sword to the floor and Alexander could hear speaking.

"Alexander."

"Yes?" Alexander's mouth was suddenly and extremely dry, and the response was nothing more than a faint, but audible, croak.

"They are coming Alexander."

"Who? Who's coming?"

"They are coming. Remain strong."

"Who's coming?" Alexander wanted to know. "Who's coming?"

But Martin was not anymore forthcoming.


	55. Chapter 54

Sorry for the slight delay in getting this chapter up. Was busy doing homework for most of the weekend, and by the time I was done, was so burned out that I wasn't really in the mood to write much. This chapter's not that spectacular anyway, the real good stuff will come next chapter, and the chapters to immediately follow it. But it gets the job done, nonetheless. In other news, "Warrior of Redwall" is now tied in length (chapter-wise, it's much longer in word count by now) to my last major Redwall fanfic, "Weylan's Family" which up until now has held the record as my longest Redwall fanfic. Looks like it's gonna loose that honor, though. ;)

Chapter 54

The day was actually quite pretty, with a large and bright afternoon sun shining down upon the land with it's usual brilliant rays of heat and light. The surrounding woods were alight with life, as emerald leaves grew big and healthy on the trees, and birds flapped through the air overhead. A warm breeze indicating that the seasons were well on their way on going from spring to summer whisked through the land. It mixed in nicely with the soft rushing sound of the babbling river, which was still cool enough that it kept the area around it.

Kani inhaled deeply, and relaxed, leaning against the rope railing of Tide's raft, the _Water Skimmer_, and watched as the craft sailed peacefully along down the river, but he knew that the peace wouldn't last, particularly once they reached their destination. He turned around, and looked past the length of the raft to see two more, hastily constructed, rafts following it, crewed by the now rogue Quorum of Warriors.

More than three days ago, back at Redwall, after having convinced the otter commander, Melody, to join sides with the Redwallers, the next several hours had been spent trying to convince the rest of the Quorum of Warriors the falseness of the Gemini faith. Melody, being the commander, did most of the talking. That long wait was filled with tension for the Redwallers, wondering if their plans would succeed.

Ultimately, however, they did. As it had turned out, Melody hadn't been the only creature in the ranks of the opposing army who had started getting their doubts. The new evidence that had been brought forward by the Redwallers about Gemini merely set those doubts in stone. Easily a third of the army promptly switched sides almost immediately, with most of the other two-thirds following shortly thereafter. The remaining stragglers continued to remain in doubt, torn over which side they wanted to be. But none of them were as fiercely loyal to Gemini as they had been before. There was too much evidence to discount the deity.

At that point, there were several things that could've been done next. Now that the Quorum of Warriors would no longer attack the abbey of Redwall, and had in fact volunteered to help the Redwallers with whatever was needed to be done to make amends for what they had done, the Redwallers could have just shrugged off the whole issue, and resumed living in peace like they had done before, acting like the incident had never happened. But they knew that the other Followers of Gemini were still out there, and they still had cause to follow their false idol. They could simply rally together another army and come back to haunt the Redwallers again. And they would also still be going out and harming the lives of other innocent creatures as well, and the Redwallers couldn't live with that on their conscience.

Besides, they were still missing one of their own. Young Alexander, who Melody had confirmed would be taken to the home of the followers somewhere to the northwest, was still captured by the followers, and no one could be really sure what had happened to him. Melody had commented that unless Alexander caused problems, it was doubtful he would come to any serious harm. The idea was to press him to be a follower as well, after all, so no one would be wanting to physically harm him unless Alexander himself forced such action.

But he wasn't where he needed to be, and that was at Redwall. Therefore, the Redwallers quickly made plans to go and retrieve him, and upon rallying some of their forces to go with the Quorum of Warriors to the sanctuary, set off to depart to the sanctuary.

Remembering the offer from Tide that he was willing to give them a lift anywhere they needed to, and that Melody stated that the sanctuary could be reached by water, the first thing they did was approach the sailor squirrel and requested his help. He was willing, though somewhat surprised by the fact there was so many to transport. Enough that they wouldn't all fit on the one raft. Hence the two additional rafts that were hastily assembled.

They had been traveling upriver, heading up a small stream that branched off the River Moss and headed in the necessary direction, ever since. Melody had stated that they were getting close, but Kani didn't need to be told this. He could sense it. He wasn't sure how, but there was a lot of things he hadn't been sure of since this all began.

Something that puzzled Mathoni to no end, not knowing any longer just went through Kani's head anymore.

"I don't get it, matey." he confessed to the fox their first night into the journey. "I thought ye wanted t' recruit th' Redwallers t' go back t' Angola an' overthrow Methusael."

And of course, the young otter was right. That had been Kani's intention ever since he left his homeland to begin with. Yet when the Redwallers started making plans to leave to attack the sanctuary, Kani offered to come with. Even though managing to stop the Quorum of Warriors and additionally getting them to side with the Redwallers still hadn't gotten to trust him fully, it was enough that they agreed, seeing now that Kani really did wish to help them. He told Mathoni all of this.

"Aye, but, t' be blunt, why are ye puttin' Redwall above Angola?" was Mathoni's response.

Kani didn't have an answer. He had been thinking the same thing ever since he had accepted to wield the sword of Martin. At first, it seemed obvious, to get Redwall in a position to help him. But he had gone and done that already. He was under no real obligation to keep helping Redwall fight its battles anymore. So...why was he still?

The closest thing he had to an answer wasn't really an answer at all. "Because I feel obligated to, Mathoni."

Now, days later, his frustrating lack of a decent answer remained unchanged. He felt no closer to an answer, either. But he did know that when ever he stopped to think about the possiblity of doing things different, about going to take care of Angola first, and leaving the Redwallers to sort out the rest of this mess on their own...he felt guilty, like he couldn't and shouldn't do that. He felt like he had to do this first, and it was instinct that had brought him here, and thus far it had worked out. Even though he wasn't sure why, he was going to keep doing that.

Besides, he did know that he had someone looking out for him, guiding him on the right way. He supposed he had best trust their judgment for now.

Kani continued watching the surrounding terrain pass by, feeling anxious. He turned to face the others. "How much further?" he asked aloud.

"Not far." Melody remarked, from where she sat, leaning against the port side railing of the raft. She was still favoring her injured arm, and her wound was still heavily bandaged, but it was no longer in a sling, mostly at her insistence. "I recognize this area. The followers come and gather water from along here. A little further still, and then we can come ashore."

"I may not be an expert at this yet," Charles commented from the other end of the raft, where he sat working on his repeating crossbow, making more arrows for it as the archers from the Quorum of Warriors had shown him earlier in the journey, "but wouldn't it be logical to come ashore now, and work our way to the place on footpaw? That way we can have an element of surprise on our side."

Melody shook her head. "A good thought, but trust me, I know the terrain. It isn't as smooth and straightforward as it looks from here. In those woodlands is rocky and rough terrain, or swampland hidden just out of sight. The Followers of Gemini chose the location to build the sanctuary for good reason. There is only one safe, quick, surefire way to reach it from this river, and we won't reach that until further on up."

"In other words, vermin, ye just be patient an' wait." Tide told Kani from where he sat at the raft's tiller, leading the way further upstream. "Ain't gonna go faster just because ye wish it."

"I do wish that were so, though." Kani remarked, ignoring the jibe from Tide as he began pacing. "The anticipation for this battle is starting to get to me. I want this to be done and over with already."

"Ye ain't alone, matey, I'm not keen 'bout this battle we're gonna 'ave t' fight." Mathoni agreed, leaning against the wall of the cabin that was built onto the _Water Skimmer_. "Somethin' tells me it ain't gonna be a fun fight."

"Of course it won't be, Mathoni." Charles remarked bitterly, who knew better. "War is never fun."

"I don't mean it like that." Mathoni corrected. "I mean...I dunno...Somethin' just doesn't...sit right with me 'bout th' whole thing. Like we ain't gonna like wot we find there, when we get there." he shook his head. "I can't explain it anymore than that."

"Judging from what we know about the Followers of Gemini, I don't think I'll be surprised by whatever it is I'll see." Kani remarked.

"Mathoni does bring up a good point, however." Melody agreed, standing up. "This fight will not be a pretty one, even with the advantage of having the Quorum of Warriors on your side. While we are the majority of the followers warriors, a fair number remain at the sanctuary to defend it. And this is not the first time the sanctuary has been attacked. Those defensive troops will be stationed well, and that will give them a upper paw over us." she trailed off for a moment. "I can only hope that the fact that they'll be taking their own forces will catch them off guard enough to give us the edge. If not..." she shook her head, "We could be facing a lot of casualties on our side."

"It's too late for us to turn back now." Charles said.

"Redwall does indeed have a need to be here." Kani agreed. He looked at Melody reassuringly. "However, you and your quorum do not have to be. In fact, you are probably going to be at a greater risk than we are, because you'll be betraying them. It's not too late for you and your forces to turn back. We certainly don't want to make you do this."

Melody, however, shook her head. "We've been following a false deity and killing innocent creatures for that deity for untold seasons now." she said darkly. "The blood of those innocent creatures is on our paws. The least we can do to make it up for those fallen is to strike back at the organization truly responsible for it."

"That's reason enough for me." a new voice said, as a creature stepped out of the raft's cabin.

Everyone turned to look at the newcomer, and the reaction to his appearance was mixed. Kani groaned. Mathoni stifled a laugh. Tide didn't even bother to hold it back, and let out a loud guffaw.

"Ye can't be serious, matey!" he exclaimed as he shook with laughter at the sight of the creature. "Ye wouldn't last a second in battle!"

Linus lifted the visor to the borrowed helmet he wore, along with the rest of the disheveled armor he wore and gave the fellow squirrel a glare. "And why not?" he asked, grumpily. "I have the armor! I have a weapon!" he motioned to the spear he carried, the only real weapon the Redwall recorder knew how to use, "I think I stand a pretty good chance, thank you!"

"Linus, with all due respect, I think Tide's right." Kani objected, stepping forward gently. They had already discussed this many times before to no avail, and it seemed like Linus was going to stand his ground, but Kani still tried. "You heard Melody. This will be an extremely lethal battle. We don't know if we can even win it yet, not until we have a better idea of what we'll be up against. It'll be like the battles we had with the quorum at Redwall, only this time, _we'll _be the ones on the ground, with no wall to duck behind." he paused. "Linus, we don't want to see you get hurt."

"I _won't _get hurt, not with all of this confounded stuff." Linus told the fox hotly, motioning to the armor he wore. "Seriously, I can barely move in all of this, I'm so well protected." he walked around experimentally for a few moments, then tripped and fell, sending Tide into another laughing fit.

Mathoni helped the squirrel get back up on his feet. "Linus, ye don't know anythin' about warfare." he told the recorder as he did this. "I know why ye came, but ye really shouldn't 'ave. Ye're putting yore life on th' line, ye realize that, right?"

Linus shrugged off Mathoni. "That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Linus, you realize that once you play your part in this war, there will be no turning back." Charles commented from where he stood, idly watching the argument. "Once you have spilt the blood of another creature, good or evil, there will be no way to take it back. Don't make the same mistake I did. You need to be absolutely certain you want to do this."

"I _am _certain!" Linus declared. "My son is in that sanctuary, or whatever you want to call it! And the day that I just stand back and not help get him back is the day this Gemini fellow is real!"

And no one could argue that point.

* * *

About an hour later, Melody declared that they had arrived at the necessary spot, and they all came ashore, and grouped together on the riverbank. As they did that, Kani and Charles quickly scouted ahead. They didn't go far enough to see the sanctuary itself, but they did find lots of evidence of creatures had passed through the area.

Charles stooped down the closer examine the footprints that were scattered all over. "They're fairly recent." he remarked.

Kani gazed over them. "And not belonging to any one particular species, either." he said. "I see the tracks for a rat, a squirrel, a mouse, even a fox. Possibly more." he straightened. "That fits, seeing that the followers are a very mish-mashed bunch."

"Think they might still be about?" Charles inquired.

Kani glanced around just in case. "I'm not sure." he said. "If they are, I don't think there are that many of them."

When they returned to where the others were at, however, they saw that the party in question _was _still about, and had stumbled upon the armies waiting at the riverbanks while Kani and Charles were scouting ahead. Kani had been right though; they weren't great in numbers, totally to about five. Two of them were teachers, a squirrel and a fox, the rest were guards. When they had stumbled upon the encampment if you could call it that, the five were quickly overwhelmed and captured. Melody and Linus had been in the progress of interrogating them when Kani and Charles returned.

"They were out searching for somebeast who had gone missing, thinking that this creature had ran away." Melody explained a little later. "They, of course, weren't expecting to find us instead. I find it curious that they had someone run away, and that he or she seems to have gotten away with it."

"Think everythin' might not be alright in th' liddle ol' sanctuary 'cause of it." Mathoni added, pleased with this new information.

"Anything else new that we learned?" Charles asked.

"Just that they aren't expecting any problems." Melody replied. "And that these five weren't happy to see that the Quorum of Warriors had switched sides while we were away." she turned to glance back at the guarded group of creatures, and at Linus, who was still actively trying to interrogate them. "And that they don't know anybeast by the name of Alexander, apparently. I am not surprised; names aren't relevant with the followers. But I can't get him to see that."

Kani patted the otter on her shoulder. "That's because it's his son that we're talking about." he stated. "And Linus has already made it clear that he won't stop until he has his son safely back where he belongs."

He then stepped over to where the group of captured creatures were kneeling on the riverbank, guarded, Linus looming over them.

"Where is Alexander?" Linus repeated, clearly not for the first time. The squirrel paced back and forth before the group, still fully decked out in armor, and looked frustrated.

One of the two captured teachers, the fox, and apparent spokebeast for the group of prisoners, answered simply, but also annoyed. "I have already told you, I know of no Alexander." he said. "And even if I did, I would not tell a wicked creature such as yourself where he is. If he truly is among our numbers as you suggest, then he has no part in your life anymore."

Offended, Linus moved to strike the creature, but Kani deftly caught the recorder's paw and stopped him.

"Linus, control yourself." the fox instructed calmly. "I know you don't want to, and I most definitely know that you have more than enough cause to. But beating these defenseless creatures senseless for an insult and probably genuinely not knowing something isn't going to gain us anything."

Linus frowned, made a growl, but nodded, and restrained himself, turning his back to the group and walking away. Kani watched the recorder go, then turned back to the group of captured followers. They looked back, with narrowed, determined eyes, clearly not frightened by the fact that they were prisoners and had no hope of escape. Kani sighed, and sat down on his haunches to be more on their eye level.

"If there is anything else of use you could tell us about the sanctuary, now would be the time to tell it." he remarked plainly.

"I have already told you wicked creatures more than enough." the fox teacher spat. "It won't change anything, however. Gemini will not allow you to succeed."

"Yes, so he claims." Kani mumbled to himself.

"Are you the leader of this group?"

"One of them. Why do you care? We're all so wicked, after all."

"Outstandingly wicked, actually, particularly seeing that you have managed to lead away most of the Quorum of Warriors astray to wickedness." the teacher narrowed his eyes at Kani. "I have never seen a greater wicked act before. But you will all be doubly cursed for your deeds by Almighty Gemini for daring to betray him."

"Yes, well, if there's anything I've learned about Gemini these past few days, it's that he's not very good at keeping his promises." Kani said, standing up and stretching. "Last chance to tell us everything you know."

"I believe I already stated I will not tell scum such as yourself our secrets." the teacher remarked bitterly. "You are not worthy to hear them."

"Yes, well, you are not worthy to be a proper fox, then." Kani remarked back, an unnecessary insult, but in Kani's mind, a truthful one. He turned to leave.

"It doesn't have to be like this, you know." the fox teacher stated quickly, making Kani pause again to listen. "There is still time to repent of your sins. All you have to do is confess them, and admit that Gemini has complete control over everything of this world."

Kani glanced back at the captured fox. "I'll do that as soon as you can genuinely prove to me that Gemini even exists." he stated.

"Let me free, and I will." the teacher promised, a venomous look in his eye.

"Try it, and I'll cut you down where you stand."

"Impossible. No wicked creature can kill a teacher belonging to Gemini's order."

"Last teacher to tell me that _did _die at my paws."

This brought up the fox teacher a bit short. "He must have become corrupted like you, then." he reasoned lamely.

"Then why did I kill him?" Kani asked rhetorically. Leaving the fox to chew on that for awhile, he went and rejoined the others.

"So what should we do with them?" Charles asked curiously as Kani approached.

Kani glanced back at them for a moment, and sighed. "Bring them with, I suppose." he said. "They might still prove to be useful." he turned to the otter commander. "Melody, about how much further until we reach the sacntuary?"

"Not far, a quick, brisk march, and we'll be at their doorstep." the ottermaid replied.

"You make it seem like it's a mere afternoon stroll." Kani remarked, then sighed, stepping forward, the others following. "All right, then. Let's get this over with."


	56. Chapter 55

And another chapter. In the spur of the moment, I am actually taking the story in ever so slightly a different direction than planned, but it looks like everything will still turn out fine, so...:) It did drag things on longer for another chapter still, but next chapter, I promise, will have some well-deserved action. ;)

Chapter 55

It was actually Mathoni's idea, brought up suddenly, in the spur of the moment.

Kani didn't like the idea.

But everyone else did, so he was outvoted.

Besides, it _was_, admittedly, the best idea they had. When they arrived at the site of the sanctuary, a structure that was built directly into the side of a cliff, and looked it over from where they were still hidden in the surrounding woodlands and a smattering of large boulders with a path running between them leading up to the building itself, acting like a gate, they saw that the sanctuary had all the advantages of the battle that would happen on the side of the followers. They needed an edge.

So, Mathoni presented his idea.

Kani objected.

But everyone else voiced their support for the idea, so they decided to go for it.

So the Redwallers watched from their hiding spot as the Quorum of Warriors, acting like they were returning victorious from a long battle, there to accept a warm welcome from the followers and resume life with them like before and not to cause trouble, marched up to the sanctuary in formation. They were playing their part well, acting like they were looking forward to returning to the peaceful life of a Follower of Gemini.

Mathoni forced a grin as he and the others watched from behind the boulder. "Here's 'opin' mates." he remarked aloud.

"Don't worry, Mathoni, your idea is a good one." Charles assured the otter. "It will work."

"Kani really protested it, though." Mathoni pointed out, nibbling nervously on one claw.

"Yes, well, that's because it affected him the most." Charles reasoned. "Really, he was the only creature who could do it, having the skill, and the such. Besides, he's a fox, just like one of our captured teachers happened to be."

He glanced back at the captured teacher in question where he sat with the other captured followers, bound, gagged (because he wouldn't shut up), and stripped of his robes and staff, leaving nothing on the perturbed fox but his undergarments. It probably insulted the fox teacher to no end, but nobody really cared about that. Besides, they needed the teacher's garments...

* * *

...because now Kani was wearing them.

While still wearing his usual clothes and the sword of Martin under it, Kani had reluctantly donned the fox teacher's robes, with the plan of impersonating the teacher long enough to get himself and the Quorum of Warriors into the sanctuary and begin the attack from within. He also carried the teacher's sapphire-topped staff, and using a mixture of ash and charcoal, had the fox teacher's tattoos drawn upon his forehead and right cheek, and were exact replicas of the real tattoos. Unless someone looked too closely, it would be hard to tell Kani apart from the real fox teacher.

The plan hinged on this. Melody had commented that it would seem suspicious if the Quorum of Warriors returned without the teacher that had gone with them, the late weasel teacher. Questions would be asked of them. Under normal circumstances, it would have been mere inconvenience, and wouldn't likely had ended with any serious problems for anyone, but Melody was quick to a point out this wasn't normal circumstances. Lies would have to be told to explain away the weasel teacher's absence, and Melody wasn't confident that the word of the Quorum of Warriors would be fully trusted. It would make everything go much smoother if a teacher could back up their word.

And as they didn't have a true teacher of Gemini on their side, Kani was selected to play the role of one.

And he didn't like it.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Kani whispered to the otter commander as he and she led the quorum into the sanctuary.

"Shh, just agree to everything I say, and be very...proper...about it." Melody advised back.

Together, they lead the way through the main doors of the building, having been opened for their entrance. Their arrival was apparently awaited, as they were more or less welcomed by a group of followers. Three of them looked like teachers, but lacked the trademark staves, and tattoo on their cheek. The Quorum of Warriors filtered in, then stopped before them, and bowed. Kani started to follow their example, but as she bowed down, Melody tugged on the back of Kani's robe to signal not to, so Kani quickly straightened again, thankfully having not gotten far enough in the bow for their greeters to notice. The first three of the group bowed their heads in response, and the quorum arose again.

"Welcome, Quorum of Warriors." one of the three announced politely, then addressed the otter commander. "I trust your mission was a success, commander?"

"A complete success, hallowed priest." Melody replied sternly. "Redwall Abbey is no more."

Inwardly, Kani cringed. Even though he knew it wasn't true, the idea of a place of peace and happiness such as Redwall Abbey being wiped out made his heart grieve.

"I see that the teacher who went with you is no longer here." another one of the three, which Kani was starting to realize were priests, remarked, looking curiously around at the group. "Did he not return with you?"

At this, Melody hung her head, and actually looked grieved. "I am afraid not, hallowed priest." she replied. "The Redwallers proved to be stronger than anticipated, and many lives were lost, as you no doubt can see. The teacher's was among them. Unfortunately, we were not able to return with his body."

This news caused a stir among those than had gathered to greet the returning warriors.

"That cannot be." the third priest remarked. "Only Gemini will decide when and where one of his teachers will die. Surely you are mistaken, commander."

"With all due respect, hallowed priest, there can be no mistake." Melody patiently replied. "I saw his body myself. He had been brutally killed in a surprise attack, as I had explained to the teacher here."

She motioned to Kani. All eyes fell upon the fox.

"Can you confirm this, teacher?" one of the priests asked.

Kani nodded. "I can." he said. "I have listened to the commander's tale, and can find no fault with it. I can only assume that the teacher was not as faithful as we had all been led to believe, and was punished for it. Further meditating and discoursing with holy Gemini will be required before the true answer is given, and we know for certain."

If any of the priests found something about Kani suspicious, they didn't show it, and seemed to accept Kani's explanation.

"Teacher, were you not out with some fellow brethren in search of the missing Silverpaw?" one priest inquired suddenly.

Anticipating this question, Kani nodded again. "Indeed I was, priest." he replied. "We were still searching, having found no trace of her when our paths managed to cross with that of the Quorum of Warriors, thanks to Gemini's guidance. The commander explained to me the situation, and I chose to return with them to the sanctuary to sort out the matter of their return. My fellow brethren are still outside searching, under the guidance of a teacher, and will remain doing so, Gemini permitting, until dusk, or they uncover something to report."

The priests all bowed their heads in understanding, not doubting Kani's word at all, it seemed. "Very well, teacher." one said. "We understand your purposes."

"Hallowed priests," Melody began, addressing the three priests suddenly, "if I may request that I and my warriors be excused at this time. We have fought long and hard for many days in the name of Gemini, and have had a long march to return. We are tired, and require rest and victuals."

"Of course." a priest remarked as they all bowed their heads once again in understanding. The three motioned to the others that were present, Kani realizing for the first time that they seemed to be helpers of some sort. "The Quorum of Servants will help disarm you and your warriors, remove your armor, and see to it that you are properly cleaned and rested. Afterwards, there shall be a glorious feast, held in Gemini's holy name, to celebrate your victory."

Melody, however, motioned with one paw for them to wait a moment. "With all due respect, hallowed priest, I wish to ask for your permission for my warriors to retire to their quarters first, and to privately give thanks to Gemini."

The three priests gave her curious looks. "This is rather irregular, commander." one remarked, firmly, but politely. "What is your reasoning for this?"

"As I have already stated, hallowed priest, the Redwallers proved to be a greater threat than anticipated, and fighting and defeating them was a noble, but demanding work. I will be the first to admit that our faith was questioned by us during the conflict. But it was foolish of us to think as such, for hallowed Gemini looked favorably upon us, and blessed us with victory, as he always does with the truly righteous. Therefore, spiritually inclined as we are, we wish to go and give our thanks to Gemini properly, now while we have the chance. Presuming that you will permit us to do this, hallowed priest."

The priests looked amongst themselves for a moment, as if silently conversing about the matter, but they didn't seem to find any problems with that. They nodded, and motioned with their paws for the Quorum of Servants to depart.

"Very well." one of them remarked. "We will grant you this request, commander, and allow your warriors to give their thanks to Gemini...assuming that you will report your success to Gemini first, commander. In the meantime, we will make preparations for the feast, as well as the necessary sacrifices of victuals for Gemini, to be given after your report."

Melody and her troops respectfully bowed. "My thanks, hallowed priests." she said. "We will do as you request. The teacher and I shall now depart to report to Gemini."

The priests then departed to carry out their chores, considering the discussion over. Melody promptly spun about on her footpaws, and with her claws gave a single signal to her warriors. They then departed, to carry out Melody's silent orders. The otter commander then turned back, and started off, heading deeper into the sanctuary. Kani, remembering what they had promised the priests, hurried to follow.

"Good work, Kani." Melody whispered to the fox once he had caught up with her. "You had me even fooled."

Kani managed a weak grin. "Thank you." he replied. "Now, where are we off to now?"

"To the catacombs." Melody replied. "There, we will meet with Gemini."

Kani blinked. "Gemini?" he repeated. "Really?"

"Yes."

"But I thought we had agreed that Gemini didn't exist."

"Not as a deity, no. But there is something down in those tunnels that claims to be Gemini. It is him that we will speak to."

"Oh." Kani felt his stomach sink. "Plagues and pestilence. This should be...to say the least...interesting."

* * *

What had seemed like days of torture for Alexander had only been a half-hour of frustration for the mouse teacher.

"Answer me, Alexander." the mouse teacher remarked, not for the first time, as he paced back and forth beside Alexander's limp body. "Do you believe in Gemini?"

Alexander wasn't in much of a condition to respond. He was barely conscious, the drug he had been forced to partake working quite effectively on the squirrel's bodily systems. Shivering violently, the youth had curled his bushy tail around him to try and conserve body heat, even though that heat was already very high. Even in this state, though, Alexander was speaking, although it was not in response to the teacher's question.

"Who?" he asked again and again in a harsh whisper. "Who? Who's coming? Martin, who is coming? Martin...Martin...who..."

He continued on like that. The mouse teacher narrowed his eyes slightly, but strove to keep his temper in check.

The other teacher who had been present to help oversee this process stood one side, and seemed disinterested.

"I do not think he is listening to you anymore." he remarked.

"No." the mouse teacher reluctantly agreed, peering down at Alexander. "I do not believe he is."

"Maybe we gave him too much?"

"Impossible. We always start small. Had I gone any smaller, and the drink would not have worked properly."

"Well, it is not working properly."

"I can see that."

A moment of silence fell, broken only by Alexander's mumbling.

"Perhaps it is a sign." the other teacher remarked. "From Gemini."

The mouse teacher grew annoyed at this idea. "If it is, I am failing to understand it."

"Martin..." Alexander mumbled breathlessly onward, looking as if he was dozing off now. "Martin...Martin....Mar...Ma...Mathoni...Mathoni...Ma...Mmm...Mel...Melody..."

"What is he going on about, anyway?" the other teacher asked.

"Charles...Father..." Alexander inhaled sharply suddenly, "...Kani."

The youth then fell silent, and simply dozed off. The two teachers studied him for a few moments.

"Perhaps there is nothing more we can do." the other teacher remarked. "Shall we proclaim him forever unrepentant and...?"

"No." The mouse teacher stated quickly. "No, I have not lost hope yet." he looked down at Alexander. "I believe there is still hope for him. We simply need to...to try something else." he sighed, then straightened, retrieved his staff from where he had set it aside, and headed for the door. "I will inquire Gemini about the matter. In the meantime, see to it that he is taken care of for now."

"Yes, brother." the other teacher replied, and bent down to heft Alexander's limp form and heaved him into the room's bed.

The mouse teacher did not stay to watch. He promptly exited the dormitory and headed on down the hall, a set destination in mind. As he headed down the stairs leading into the entry way, he crossed paths with a passing otter teacher.

"Brother teacher," the otter greeted as the two passed. "Just so you are aware, we have managed to locate and capture more than two-thirds of the wicked creatures hiding in the sanctuary. The rest are still eluding capture, but we will have them soon enough."

"Understood." the mouse teacher replied, somewhat distracted.

"You also might like to now that the Quorum of Warriors have returned at long last." the otter teacher continued. "They were successful in their conquest. Their commander and a teacher have gone to report the success to Gemini."

"Very good." the mouse teacher remarked, parting ways with the otter teacher. "We will cross paths then, as I am heading to meet with Gemini myself, right now."

* * *

Whatever Kani had envisioned about the catacombs, what he saw wasn't quite what he had expected. The catacombs proved to be a large and complex maze of interweaving tunnels, studded so much with blue sapphires, that they were almost lined with them. Further adding to the blueness was the fact that the tunnel was lit with torches casting off blue flames. The feeling of unease grew within Kani, and he wondered how it was possible that Gemini hadn't been considered a bad entity before now.

It didn't help any that he was about to meet what was claimed to be Gemini, whoever and whatever that was.

Melody seemed less nervous, having wandered down into the catacombs several times in the past. As being a mere commander of the Quorum of Warriors, she usually only got to pay a visit to Gemini's chamber, and wasn't really allowed anywhere else, but she knew her way around these tunnels well, and was not lost, whereas Kani was after awhile. Kani admired her both for that, and the fact that she seemed to be staying calm.

The latter of this was proven wrong however, when, upon reaching an intersection of sorts in the tunnels, Melody suddenly stopped, and hesitated. Sensing her unease, Kani glanced at her.

"There something wrong?" he asked.

"Gemini is just around this corner, at the end of the tunnel to our right." Melody explained, pointing with one claw. She drew in a deep breath, and let it out with a whoosh. "I am not sure if I can handle seeing him at this time."

"Why?" Kani asked. "You know that he can't really be what he claims to be, that he has no serious supernatural power over you."

"I know, and I believe that, but still..." Melody sighed, "a part of me still says that I shouldn't be doing this. I think it's the inner follower in me speaking, but still...."

Kani made no immediate comment, and instead stopped to think.

"Kani, suppose for a moment that we are all wrong about Gemini." Melody said suddenly. "I don't know how that could be true, but suppose for a moment that it might. What do we do then?"

Kani thought hard for an adequate answer. "I suppose we'll find out in a moment." was the best he could give.

It seemed to work for Melody, for she gained enough courage to turn the corner, and lead the way down the following tunnel. Kani traveled behind her. The tunnel didn't go far before it opened up into a small, circular room. Like the rest of the catacombs, it too, was lined with sapphires and lit with torches of blue fire, but what grabbed Kani's attention the fastest was what was probably the biggest sapphire he had ever seen, embedded in the chamber's far wall. Kani stared at it, and resisted the urge to move closer to it to examine it closer, somehow sensing that now was not the time for that.

They stepped into the center of the room, then stopped. Melody dropped to her knees in a bow before the massive jewel, lowering her head. Kani followed her example, doing likewise. A moment of silence followed, then Kani realized that a new blue light had started to glow, and rapidly grew to a brightness that it outshone the other light sources of the room. Kani cautiously and indiscreetly glanced up, and realized that the massive sapphire had started producing the brilliant glow from within itself.

A moment of silence then followed, but it was not a long one.

"Arise," Gemini spoke in a commanding voice, "and speak, my loyal followers."


	57. Chapter 56

It's the chapter you've all been waiting for, with even more coming next chapter. ;) On another note, I somehow and stupidly forgot to make mention that Skipper Rowe, Tobias, and Illia were also present with the Redwallers, a couple chapters ago, so they just kind of suddenly turn up now, in this chapter. Just FYI. Now, enjoy the chapter. :)

Chapter 56

At first, Kani wasn't sure how to react to this. Prior to this meeting, he had always presumed that Gemini, judging from the descriptions of him provided by both the Redwallers and the Quorum of Warriors, was nothing more than a mere idea. There was no proof that he actually existed, and certainly no proof that he had any power over anything. It was this that Kani had used to his advantage in helping to get the Quorum of Warriors to switch sides. As he had understood it, Gemini did not exist, not in the physical world, nor in the metaphysical.

And yet, here he was, kneeling in a underground cavern in a maze of tunnels, having just heard Gemini speak to him.

It threw Kani's mind for a loop as it was bombarded with thoughts, inquiries, and doubts about the whole situation. If Gemini really was false, how was it that he was speaking to Kani? If Gemini, as a being, existed, even when disregarding the fact that he wouldn't be a deity, suddenly made Kani wonder if he was in his rights to do what had been planned to do.

At least one thing was certain, though. It was pretty clear how Gemini had managed to get such a strong following for so long now. Proof certainly existed that he existed in some shape or form.

But then Kani realized something that scared off all of the doubts that had been plaguing his mind. Evidence that proved that Gemini lacked the power his followers vainly testified that he had. Whoever and whatever Gemini was, he was not what he claimed to be, and Kani could prove it.

But first, he decided to not let Gemini realize that just yet. Just to see how Gemini would react.

As per Gemini's request, he arose, Melody following his example. Neither of their expressions revealed anything. With a nod, Kani addressed the glowing sapphire.

"Hallowed Gemini," he greeted, making this up at he went along, "We are here to announce to you the victorious return of the Quorum of Warriors."

"Victorious indeed, just as I had assured you." Gemini remarked, further confirming Kani's realization. Gemini didn't know the truth. "That wicked place known as Redwall will cause trouble no longer."

"You have my assurances of that, holy Gemini." Melody spoke up at this, bowing her head respectfully. "Redwall is naught but rubble now."

"Very good." Gemini praised them, "May this serve to further prove my almighty power. No wicked creature can nor will stand before me and my righteous plans. You are both blessed for your loyalty, as well as the quorums you serve."

"As I have been told by the commander, however, it was not without consequences." Kani spoke, interjecting.

Gemini was silent for a moment. "Explain yourself, teacher." he ordered sternly.

Kani, however, was only growing more confident. "Several died in the battle with Redwall." he explained. "Including a teacher of your order. With all due respect, Gemini, they died in the line of battle, even though they had been blessed by you to survive."

"They doubted my almighty word, distrusted my actions, and as a result, were punished, and were cast down." Gemini replied without hesitation.

"You are saying they were wicked, then." Kani remarked.

"Not necessarily, teacher. Just that they were not as righteous as they could have been."

"But you declared us all very righteous creatures just a moment ago."

"Only those that returned." Gemini was starting to sound slightly perplexed now, however. "There is little point in this line of questioning, however."

"Oh, but there is, hallowed Gemini." Kani persisted. "Because I am left wondering about your judgment."

This annoyed Gemini. "You dare question my words, teacher?" he barked.

"Oh aye, he dares." Melody remarked. "He has every reason to."

"You will not address your savior in that manner, commander!" Gemini barked, his voice echoing loudly in the room, making both creatures flinch.

"We will address you however we wish, Gemini!" Kani remarked once the echo had died down to tolerable levels. "We brought up an extremely logical point, and we wish you explain it!"

"No!" Gemini exclaimed. "I will not explain what is already obvious! If you creatures cannot see what I have plainly set before you already, that is not my concern. There is no reason for this line of questioning!"

At this, Kani finally laughed. "Oh, but we have _every _reason, Gemini!" he said, almost mockingly. "Because you _really _don't know what's going on here, do you?"

Gemini was silent for a moment, as if picking his next answer carefully. "What is going on here, then, teacher?" he finally asked, as if curious.

"Several things." Kani remarked with a snort. He was beginning to enjoy this. "But first off, I am not a teacher."

* * *

When the Quorum of Warriors had been dismissed after meeting with the three priests, it had been to the priests understanding that they were going to their quarters to quickly pray and give thanks to Gemini before going to be disarmed and have their armor removed. However, the Quorum of Warriors knew the orders they had been given by Melody before they left. They knew what they had to do.

They did not head for their quarters. But at first, they made like they were going to, all breaking apart and heading off in the right directions. Later, groups of them met back up and certain places all throughout the sanctuary. Then, still armed and dangerous, they went to remove the sanctuary's tactical advantage over the awaiting Redwallers outside still.

First, a couple of the groups went to the smattering of armories that the sanctuary housed, usually kept secured under lock and key, and by guard under times of danger, but there were no guards, and being members of the Quorum of Warriors, the groups knew how to easily infiltrate these armories and capture them. Being already armed, they had no need for more weapons, but that was not the idea. The idea was to keep everyone else out of the armories as well.

Then, other groups silently went all throughout the sanctuary and discreetly and quietly disabled, overpowered, or in the extreme case of one where there was little other choice, slay the creatures that had been stationed in strategic places in the building to defend the building should it ever come under attack. This included a large number of snipers, a smattering of fighters that weren't already among the ranks of the Quorum of Warriors, and a couple creatures that were perpetually standing on watch for trouble. With the exception of the one creature that was regrettably slain, this was all done quickly, effortlessly, and above all, quietly, raising the alarm to no one save the creatures they disabled as painlessly as possible.

Next, most of the Quorum of Warriors stationed themselves in strategic locations all throughout the building, placing themselves wherever a large among of creatures presently resided, and wherever a ruckus and/or fight was expected to arise once things got going. They stood there either secretly or in plain sight, paws on their weapons. They would not react until the signal was given, or something in the plan went terribly wrong, and they had no choice but react. But they did not expect anything to go wrong. And thus far, nothing had.

Finally, all who was left of the quorum regrouped in the entry hall of the sanctuary, back where they had first arrived. Except for them, the hall was all but empty save for a smattering of creatures who were passing, some of them stopping to watch the quorum's odd behavior, some starting to wonder if they should be concerned.

This latter thought was confirmed when two of the quorum stepped forward and opened the front doors leading in and out of the sanctuary, permitting any creature outside to enter unobstructed...

* * *

Outside, where the Redwallers were watching and waiting patiently under the cover the large rocks, couldn't help but see the doors opening.

"There's our cue!" Charles exclaimed, quickly moving into position.

Skipper Rowe, who had taken command since Kani and Melody had gone inside with the Quorum of Warriors, pointed a claw at the open doors. "Right, mates, this is it!" he exclaimed. "No matter wot happens next, this'll end it!"

"For Redwall!" Tobias exclaimed loudly, raising his sword into the air.

The others quickly picked up on the war cry.

"Redwaaaall!"

The Redwallers charged into the sanctuary, unhindered, their weapons drawn and raised, and ready to do battle. They quickly joined the Quorum of Warriors, and took up defensive positions while the onlooking Followers of Gemini reacted accordingly. Then, all throughout the sanctuary, the battle to seize control of the building began...

* * *

Gemini fell silent for some time after Kani's revelation about who the fox was, or rather, was not. Kani and Melody silently awaited the so-called deity's response, staring at the large, glowing sapphire. They waited for quite awhile, and weren't quite sure what to make of it.

"Well, at least he hasn't struck us down for making such comments yet." Melody remarked, looking on the bright side. "That proves he doesn't have the power to."

"If he had the power he claimed to have, he would have struck us down long before we ever entered the sanctuary." Kani pointed out.

A few moments later, Gemini finally spoke.

"If you are not a teacher, then who are you, fox?" he asked, sounding calm again.

"Kani Fennix." Kani replied, rubbing the false tattoos off his face, then added, "You mean you didn't know?"

Gemini was silent for another moment. "Of course I did." he replied. "I am all knowing."

"Then why did you not react sooner?" Melody challenged. "Why did you act like you thought otherwise?"

"I do not need to explain my great purposes to you, commander." Gemini retorted, shirking the question. "Assuming that you are still the commander of the Quorum of Warriors, and not some intruder."

"Oh, she is." Kani said, tossing Melody the staff he had been carrying and using both paws to work at unfastening the robes he was wearing. "Which leads me to something else you don't know." he gave the sapphire that was apparently Gemini a sly grin. "The Quorum of Warriors in just about it's entirety are no longer on your side, but mine."

This rendered Gemini silent again for a long moment. Kani sensed that the deity, or whatever he was, was trying very hard to keep his reactions calm.

"And just who side are you on, Kani Fennix?" Gemini asked at the end of this pause.

"What? You don't know?" Kani was having fun pointing this out.

"I was under the impression that you had began to believe that." Gemini replied carefully, starting to get his act together again.

Kani ruined that all again, however. "I'm siding with the Redwallers."

Gemini was silent for yet another moment, but not as long this time. "The Redwallers are dead." he remarked confidently.

"No, actually, we lied." Kani corrected. "Redwall Abbey, and it's populace, still stand intact." his grin grew bigger still. "Gotcha."

Gemini again fell silent. Kani wondered what would happened next in the argument, and whether or not Gemini was going to give up. It was clear that he wasn't who he claimed to be, otherwise he would have done something to stop this already.

"Kani!" Melody suddenly exclaimed, ducking into one corner of the room and motioning to the door with the jerk of her head.

Kani twisted one ear to the door, heard pawsteps coming their way, and quickly moved into the corner opposite of Melody. Both were hidden from immediate sight from whoever was approaching, but were close enough to the door to react quickly if need be. Gemini made no comment on any of this, and continued to remain silent.

The pawsteps came ever more closer, until the mouse teacher stepped into the chamber, not suspecting anything, although he did notice that the sapphire Gemini apparently communicated through was already lit. He did not see Kani and Melody until he was in the room.

"Watch yourself, teacher!" Gemini exclaimed in warning, but it came too late.

Melody reacted first by striking at the mouse with the staff Kani had handed her, catching the teacher off guard and doubling him over. Kani relieved the mouse of his own staff, then planted a kick to the creature's back and sent him sprawling onto the floor of the chamber. He started to protest this treatment, but Kani hauled him up to his knees, and moved the unfastened robes he still wore to show the sword of Martin fastened at his belt.

"Not a word." Kani told him, shedding the cloak finally. "And don't try anything."

"What is this?" the mouse protested angrily. "Who are you?"

"Wicked creatures, and they are trying my patience." Gemini replied hotly.

"Well, that's good to know." Kani said, grabbing the mouse teacher and moving him to the middle of the room, drawing his sword and holding it at the teacher's neck before rounding onto Gemini. "You must be extremely patient, though, Gemini. If I were you, I would have done something by now."

"I do not strike creatures down on the slightest whim, fox." Gemini remarked.

"Then why do you automatically have creature killed when they refuse to believe in you?" Melody asked.

Gemini fell silent for a moment, not having an immediate response again.

"You have no right to question Gemini's methods." the mouse teacher responded for his supposed deity. "Gemini is all knowing, and knows of things none of us on this earth could begin to comprehend! Things simply work differently for him! Simply because you cannot comprehend it does not give you the right to question it!"

"A distinct possibility." Kani agreed. "However, there is one small problem with that statement."

"Gemini is _not _all knowing." Melody explained.

"We already proved it, too." Kani added. "You missed it. Gemini will probably deny it now. But, we managed to get in here and tell him lies _to his face_ and he believed every word of it."

"Impossible." the mouse teacher responded. "Gemini is simply toying with you. He will stop you, and strike you down."

"If he could really do that, then why hasn't he?" Kani asked rhetorically.

"Do not tempt me, fox." Gemini said suddenly. "I have the power."

"Then _use _it." Kani snapped. "Prove to me that you have it! If you can really stop me, then stop me! I demand you stop me, Gemini! I'll even make it easy and just stand here and do nothing!" he held his paws out defensively. "Go ahead and stop me!"

A long moment of silence while everyone waited for Gemini's response. Nothing happened, nor did Gemini speak.

Kani nodded to himself, and lowered his paws. "I thought as much." he said aloud. "Gemini may exist, but he can't do half the things he claims he can do, can you Gemini?"

Gemini said nothing.

"Blasphemy, there must be an explanation!" the mouse teacher argued lamely, starting to get up and advancing up Kani. "Gemini must have a reason! Perhaps he wishes to spare your miserable life fox to teach you a lesson, not that you would deserve it at this point, you flea-bitten..."

Kani stopped the mouse by raising his sword to touch the mouse's neck. "Try it, and I'll slay you." he vowed.

"You cannot kill me." the mouse teacher said confidently.

"Yes, well, I've already tested the truthfulness of _that _statement with messy results." Kani replied.

The mouse glowered for a moment. "If Gemini will not stop you, the other followers of this sanctuary will for the wicked acts you have done."

"Oh, we're not worried about the others." Melody said.

"The Quorum of Warriors and the Redwallers are probably taking care of them by now." Kani remarked confidently.

The mouse teacher blanked out for a moment. "The Redwallers are dead, I was assured of this just before..."

"We lied." Melody interrupted. "The report the warriors and I gave upon our arrival was a lie. The Redwallers still live, their abbey still stands."

"Better still, a party of Redwallers were hiding outside _undetected_ when we came in." Kani continued. "Now, both them and the warriors are working to take this sanctuary from the inside out, and have a good chance of succeeding." he took the mouse's staff that he had confiscated and approached the mouse, who suddenly seemed lost. "We planned this from the start, and Gemini didn't see it coming. Gemini is _not _what he claims to be. His commandments are being given for no real reason other than his enjoyment and to take advantage of your gullibility. Your faith in him is in vain. Everything you believe in is false."

The mouse looked shocked, and collapsed to his knees. "No." he murmured. "It cannot be. Gemini exists."

"Oh, sure he does." Kani said with confidence. He jabbed a claw back at the massive sapphire. "The big glowing rock proves it. He just doesn't have any power over anything, not me, not you, and certainly not anything else in this world. He's just a disembodied voice giving you orders to kill creatures who stand in his way. Take away all of his followers and his ruse, and he wouldn't stand a chance." he glanced back at the glowing sapphire. "Isn't that right, Gemini?"

Gemini said nothing. He had become unnaturally silent.

"No, it cannot be." the mouse teacher protested still. His eyes narrowed. "This must all be some sort of trick! What you are telling me now is the true lies! The Redwallers probably really are dead!"

"No, they aren't, and are probably taking this building as we speak." Melody said.

"Face it, mouse, we're snapping your so-called faith like a twig." Kani spat.

And to further visualize the analogy, the fox took the mouse's staff and broke it in two over his knee. Then, taking the two remaining pieces, he threw them carelessly aside at the large sapphire. They bounced off it with dull thuds and clattered to the floor. Gemini finally spoke again by releasing a half-withheld yelp when the pieces of the staff struck the crystal. Slightly surprised at this, the three creatures turned to look at the glowing crystal. Then, realizing something else, Kani stepped over to the sapphire and picked up the bejeweled top of the broken staff, and used it to rap against the large sapphire.

The sound it produced was quite hollow. There was empty space on the other side of the sapphire.

Kani made an astonished grin. "So that's how you've done it..." he remarked aloud to himself.

* * *

The Followers of Gemini were not expecting an attack at all, and were completely disorganized when the Redwallers and the Quorum of Warriors attacked. They didn't stand and chance and were quickly overwhelmed. A large number of them, either having no combat training at all, or realizing they had no hope of fighting back, promptly and willingly surrendered themselves. They were all taken captive and escorted back to the entry hall to be guarded and watched.

Some of the more serious followers, however, such as teachers, were willing to fight to the bitter end, fighting viciously and without restraint. They caused a great deal of damage, but the attacks were reckless, and were either quickly knocked unconscious, or so it was for more than half of the teachers, slain.

Mathoni realized this quickly when the group he had been following in the fairly bloodless fight they had doing thus far with Illia, Charles, and Rowe when they suddenly stumbled upon two teachers restraining and dragging away another follower, a female otter around Mathoni's own age, who was struggling and trying to escape. Upon seeing the attackers coming their way, the teachers tried to sped up their progress, going on the defensive. The ottermaid was only slowing them down, but they weren't about to let her go.

The Redwallers were upon them in moments, and a battle quickly broke loose. The two teachers fought tooth and claw, and when it became clear that they would threaten the ottermaid's own life and not give up, their attackers switched gears to attack more seriously. The first one was killed when dueling with Illia, and Illia getting lucky by slapping aside the teacher's last attack then driving him through in an act of self-preservation. The other was dispatched more quickly by Charles, taking an arrow to the neck and being killed almost instantly.

Once it was all over, Mathoni stared at the dead bodies of the two creatures, seeing the blood pooling around them, and realized for the first time what Rowe had meant by there being more to war than the glory, and why Charles had reacted the way he had to his exposure to war. Mathoni now stood at the sight of his real first taste of war, and understood what it really meant to be a warrior.

Shaking the ugly thoughts from his mind, however, he turned away from the blood and gore and focused his attention on the ottermaid, who had fallen to the floor during the fight, but seeming unhurt.

"Ye all right, mate?" he asked, offering a paw to help the ottermaid up with.

"Yes, I'm all right." the ottermaid replied breathlessly, accepting the help back up. "Who are you?"

"Mathoni of Redwall."

"Redwall. Then Terra was right, Redwall _did _survive, and came to help us!"

"That's right, miss." Rowe said, stepping over. "We did, but we ain't 'ere t' just do that. We're 'ere t' get 'un of our own."

"Of course, Alexander." the ottermaid said.

"That's right!" Linus suddenly exclaimed from in the middle of the group, and forced his way to the ottermaid. "You know him? Where is he?"

"I don't know, he could be anywhere in the sanctuary by now." the ottermaid confessed. She quickly related to them about the rebellion, the followers discovering them, and what was happening to the rebels when the attack began. "I was one of the lucky ones, and managed to avoid capture, at first. Those two had just caught up with me when you started attacking." she looked at the fallen bodies of the two teachers. "You may have just saved my life." she looked back at her rescuers. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, miss..." Charles began, trailing off to prompt for a name.

"Sarias." the ottermaid replied.

"But what about Alexander?" Linus asked, the squirrel getting anxious. "Where is he?"

"I don't know." Sarias confessed. "He could be anywhere. If he escaped capture, then he's probably at the hidden cave. If not...then he could be anywhere."

"Can ye guess?" Illia prompted.

Sarias thought for a moment, then shrugged. "If he was caught, he was probably taken to his dormitory. The dormitories are all on the top floor in the front of the sanctuary, above the main gates. I cannot tell you which room would be Alexander's however."

"We'll check them all, if we must!" Linus proclaimed.

"But you heard her, he might not even be there." Charles pointed out.

"We'll spilt up." Rowe reasoned. "Me, Linus, Charles, will go an' check out 'em dormitories. Mathoni and Illia, have Sarias lead ye t' this hidden cave an' check it out. Everyone else, spilt in half, an' half of ye go with. Either of ye find anythin' come an' tell us. Oh, an' keep an' eye out for Kani and Melody! Ain't seen any trace o' either o' 'em at all since th' battle began. I'm startin' t' worry 'bout 'em..."

* * *

Grinning victoriously still, Kani silently started to examine the glowing sapphire that Gemini had seemingly been using to communicate through.

"What are you doing?" the mouse teacher asked after a few moments, growing annoyed again.

"Yes, what _are _you doing, Kani?" Melody asked, curious herself.

"This is glass." Kani suddenly announced, taking a step back from the sapphire.

"Say what now?"

"The sapphire. It's really made of glass."

"Your eyes deceive you, that is a sapphire, one of Gemini's holy jewels." the mouse spat. "It is the biggest in the catacombs, and specially selected by Gemini to converse with his followers."

"Really?" Kani asked, glancing back at the captive while taking the top of the broken staff, gripping it tightly in one paw. "Then explain why I can do this."

Without warning, he suddenly spun around again and struck the surface of the glowing sapphire hard with the top of the broken staff. A spiderweb of cracks spread out from where the staff and struck, weakening the blue crystal. The mouse teacher blinked in surprise, not at all expecting this.

"If this were a real sapphire," Kani explained, throwing the staff head aside and pulling out Martin's sword again, "then I wouldn't have been able to do that so easily. It's really glass. And therefore more breakable." he readied the blade to swing again at the crystal. "And behind it, I'm convinced, is the answer to everything."

The mouse teacher was finally at a loss for words, but now Gemini found his voice again.

"Stop fox, or else!" he warned loudly.

Kani ignored him, and lined up the blade to stab at the sapphire's weakened spot.

"I am warning you, Kani Fennix! You will not break this sapphire! You WILL listen to me, you WILL obey me!"

Kani still ignored the indignant entity. Lining up the sword, he thrust the sword forward at the sapphire with all his strength.

"No! Stop!"

The sword struck the sapphire and shot through it, halfway up it's blade, with a resounding crack. The fake jewel shattered, cracks now covering every inch of it. It held together for a split second, then simply fell apart, the shards of blue glass spilling down and out of the wall it was embedded in, flooding the floor around it with it's remains. Kani quickly backed away from the falling glass, joining the others.

Then, silence fell, as the three got their first real look at the _true _Gemini...


	58. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Gemini was a mouse.

Beyond the shattered remains of the glass sapphire was another chamber, hidden from sight, roughly about the same size and dimensions as the meeting room. Only this room has no apparent exit, and was furnished to be like a dormitory, designed for a creature to stay in it long term. And that creature was a mouse, fully grown, but his exact age couldn't be clearly determined at present. He was at least middle-aged, but it didn't really matter at this point.

The mouse was clearly Gemini.

He had been in here for a very long time, as well. His fur and long gone dull due to being cooped up to the little room for so long. It was also not very well kept. The creature's eyes were dark and sullen, and bore bags under them like the mouse was tired, even though he did not look the least bit tired. He was also skinny, looking like he hadn't been getting sufficient nourishment during his long stay here. He looked unhealthy.

But despite all of this, Gemini was still determined. When the fake sapphire that hid this little room shattered, Gemini had backed away from it to avoid the shards of blue glass scattering everywhere, and as Kani ventured into the room, treading carefully to avoid cutting his footpaws open on the spilled glass, Gemini kept his distance, knowing that he was quite vulnerable. But he otherwise stood his ground, and was clearly angry, giving Kani such a silent, deadly, glare, that had the mouse actually been the deity he had claimed, the glare probably would have killed the fox by now.

Kani wasn't too worried about that. Ignoring the mouse for the moment, he looked around the hidden room, to see how Gemini had pulled off the illusion for so long. Put simply, the room was ingenious in it's construction. Like most of the catacombs, the room was obviously naturally formed, but there were parts of it that had been artificially created to suit Gemini's needs. For instance, vents had been carved into the room just above where the crystal blocking the room's only entrance in such a way that it provided Gemini with fresh air, and allowed Gemini's voice to be heard in booming tones when he spoke, but would very unlikely would have been seen from outside the room. The room had also tapped into an underground hot spring, and the water pooled in an artificially created, shallow, well on one side of the room.

The room was fairly sparse in furnishings. It had a bed, that had clearly seen years of use, a wooden chair, and a table. The table sat towards the front of the room, and housed a simple oil lantern with blue colored glass paneling that surrounded the flame. When lit, the device created a blue glow that was bright enough to be seen through the glass sapphire, making it seem to glow on its own accord, adding to the illusion of Gemini deity.

The room also housed a great deal of shelves. The shelves beside the bed housed bottles of a liquid, probably an alcoholic one by the looks of it, and looked like they had been there for more than one generation at least. They were clearly potent enough that it would be unwise for one to try consuming much of it for mere pleasure. Kani figured that the fluid was probably used for other purposes, such as cleaning, or for medicinal purposes. The other set of shelves sat along the wall opposite of the hot springs, and housed thick record books that probably covered the space of a great many seasons. Kani assumed that they talked about the history of the Followers of Gemini.

He also spied a tray of half-eaten food that lay abandoned on the floor, which puzzled the fox for a moment, not understanding how Gemini could have obtained it, until he noticed something about the broken glass sapphire that he hadn't been able to see before. The sapphire was actually a door that swung inward. The blue glass was rimmed with a metallic frame, which was hidden from view from the front by a lip of rock. The door seemed to be locked most of the time, as it was latched at the moment, but it explained how Gemini got food, particularly when one remembered that the Quorum of Priests prepared and gave Gemini food sacrifices.

Having properly taken in all of this, Kani stepped fully into the room, and approached the still silent, but glaring, mouse that was Gemini. Melody, with some hesitation, followed, being careful to not cut herself on the fallen glass. The mouse teacher, for the moment, seemed too stunned to move, and simply remained where he was, kneeling on the floor, staring wide-eyed, at Gemini.

Kani stepped up to the mouse, and looked down at him, arms folded.

"Gemini, I presume." he remarked, even though there was little need for it.

Gemini merely met the fox's eyes, and continued giving his silent glare.

Melody had wandered over to the shelves full of books, and pulled one down, flipping through the yellow pages. "That's odd." she remarked, her brow furrowed. "Kani, do you recognize this writing?"

Kani double checked to make sure Gemini wasn't going anywhere, then stepped over to glace at the pages of the book. It was covered with writing, as was expected, but it used a text that Kani did not recognize, much less be able to read.

"No." he remarked, and glanced up at the otter commander. "Do you?"

Melody shook her head. "I think it might be an old form of writing early Followers of Gemini used." she explained. "It has long since gone into disuse. The teachers used to be taught it, but even they had no use after awhile, especially after some of our official record books were re-written into newer copies. No one here can read this writing anymore, I believe."

"Except Gemini, apparently." Kani remarked, finding a quill and a well of ink on the shelf as well, and held it up for Melody to see. He glanced back at the defiant mouse, still giving Kani a glare. "Somehow I don't think he will translate it." the fox stopped to think for a moment, swishing his tail back and forth. "We'll take a record book back upstairs once we're done here. Maybe Redwall's recorder...er...Linus, can make heads or tails of it."

Melody nodded, and closed the book. She was silent for a moment. "Speaking of which," she finally began again, hesitant, "what are we going to do with him?" she pointed a claw at Gemini.

Kani glanced at the mouse. "Take him with." he replied simply.

"Good. Then everyone can see what he truly is."

Melody and Kani turned, and saw the mouse teacher standing in the opening where the sapphire was at. His eyes were locked upon Gemini, and were ablaze with hatred. Gemini finally pulled his eyes off of Kani and now they directed it's dark glare at the mouse teacher. It didn't faze the teacher in the slightest, as he simply glared back.

"You." he remarked, pointing his claw at Gemini, "Do you realize...do you know...what you have done?"

Gemini did not reply right away. Instead, he just kept glaring at the mouse teacher. Just when Kani thought that the mouse wasn't going to reply at all, like before, Gemini spoke.

"I did," he began slowly, deliberately, "what I thought necessary for my purposes."

"Your purposes." The teacher scoffed the idea. "Your _purposes _has caused hundreds of creatures to forfeit their lives, both physically and mentally, either to follow you, or to defy you. Lives have been lost because of you. Blood has been shed _needlessly _because of you. Simply because you wanted control, isn't it?" the mouse shook his head, suddenly saddened. "And like a fool, I believed you."

Slapping his fist hard against the side of the hidden room's entrance, the teacher turned his back to Gemini, and stomped off, clearly angry. He didn't get far before he slowed, fell to his knees, and broke down and wept. Melody bowed her head, sharing in the teacher's grief. Kani, however, turned his attention back to Gemini, eyes narrowed.

"How about we go see what everyone else will have to say about you, hmm?" he asked, pointing Martin's sword at the creature.

Gemini merely resumed glaring in response.

* * *

By the time Mathoni, Illia, their new friend, Sarias, and the rest of the party had arrived at the cave in question, the take over of the sanctuary was pretty much over. Most of the creatures there did not put up much of a fight. They found it better to peacefully surrender than to fight in a battle they had no guarantees they could win. The only exceptions to these creatures were the more devout of the followers, which mostly included the teachers. Most of the quorum literally fought to the death, while others fought until they could be knocked unconscious to be dealt with later.

The violence was kept to a minimum, but even that much sat uneasily with Mathoni.

"If only there was some way t' do this without hurtin' anybeast." he commented aloud as they journeyed through the tunnels of the sanctuary, occasionally passing such sings of violence.

"We all would like that, Mathoni." Illia agreed, staying focused on the task at paw. "But then it wouldn't be war."

Eventually they arrived at a storeroom of sorts. It had been abandoned by the time they arrived there, but Sarias assured them that it typically was anyway. The Redwallers filed into the room, then milled around while Sarias moved over to the far wall.

"Nothin' in 'ere but parchment." Illia noted, peering into one of the open crates that lined the storeroom's wall. "Don't see anythin' like a cave."

"It would obviously not be so readily seen." Sarias explained, finding the hidden alcove that led into the secret cave, and pressing her sleek otter form into it. "First, you have to squeeze through here."

The Redwallers watched as she squirmed around in the alcove for a moment, then slipped to one side of it and out of sight. They all exchanged looks, then moved to follow. Mathoni was able to follow much in the same way as Sarias had been. Illia followed, though being a bit bigger and older, had to work at it a bit more. The rest followed without event, though some of the more fully grown creatures struggled to fit through the narrow space.

When they all emerged on the other side, they found Sarias kneeling on the floor, conversing and reassuring three other rebellion creatures that were already there, sitting on the floor of the cave and had been hiding. The three consisted of a nearly-fully grown harvestmouse, and two voles, possibly twins, that were closer to Alexander's age, and were quite scared at the situation. Particularly when the Redwallers started to follow Sarias into the cave, but the ottermaid quickly squashed those fears.

"Oh, don't mind them, they're friends." Sarias assured them, then focused on the matter at paw. "Now, I don't suppose I need to guess why you three are in here."

The harvestmouse, who was apparently the self-appointed guardian of the two younger creatures, nodded. "We were hiding." he said. "At first, when the followers went hunting for us, we assumed that it would not be safe in the cave either. But then, when the attack began, and finding that everything was empty here, we decided to hide here." he shrugged. "We weren't sure what else to do, and if we had cause from concern."

"Well, ye certainly don't 'ave t' worry about us, mate." Mathoni said, who had been looking idly around the cave for a moment before stepping over. "We came t' put an end t' the lot of the Followers of Gemini once an' for–whoop!"

He stumbled suddenly, and toppled onto Sarias, who cried out in protest. Mathoni quickly pushed himself up off of her, and straightened up.

"Sorry!" he quickly apologized, and stomped his footpaw on a lip in the stone floor. "Tripped on this lousy ledge." with that, he quickly backed into a corner. From across the cave, Illia was heard stifling a chuckle.

Sarias rolled her eyes, and resumed conversing with the harvestmouse and his two companions. "What about everyone else?" she asked. "Have you seen anyone else? Terra? Deni? Alexander?"

The harvestmouse shook his head. The two young voles joined in.

"Most of us was in the cafeteria when the followers went to capture us." the harvestmouse reasoned logically. "They were probably there when it happened."

"The question is, did they escape, or where they captured?" Sarias asked aloud, pulling at her whiskers in thought. "And if they were captured, where are they now?"

"What about the followers?" one of the two voles asked, nervously. "Where are they?"

"Subdued by now, I would hope." Illia remarked, standing nearby, but not watching the four rebels at the moment. "Got both Redwallers an' the Quorum of Warriors workin' together t' stop 'em. Been pretty successful, don't think ye'll 'ave t' worry 'bout 'em bein' a threat anymore."

"What about Gemini?" the harvestmouse asked. "I know Terra said that he isn't a threat, but still..."

"I'm told that there are creatures taking care of that." Sarias assured them.

"Aye, one of 'em is the commander of the Quorum of Warriors." Illia remarked. She was still watching something else, brow furrowed.

"An' th' other is Kani, an' we can trust 'im t' deal with any trouble that might pop up." Mathoni called out from his corner of the cave. He sounded distracted.

"Right, an' hopefully, they can deal with anythin' that Gemini might 'ave t' dish out, if Gemini is a threat at all an'..." Illia finally trailed off, and shook her head. "Mathoni, just wot is it that yore doin', anyway?"

Sarias turned, and saw just what it was Illia had been looking at, and why Mathoni seemed distracted. Mathoni was down on all fours, his ear pressed intently against the stone floor, near the lip in the stone he had tripped on.

"What _are _you doing?" Sarias asked, getting up and stepping over to watch the otter on the floor.

"I could 'ave sworn that I heard somethin' under this just a moment ago." Mathoni stated, still listening. "It was very faint, but..."

"Ye should ye didn't just hear an echo?" Illia asked. "We _are _in a cave, after all."

"But it doesn't echo in here." Sarias pointed out, glancing at the other otter. "Look, I'll prove it. Heeelllloooo! See? No echo. I think the cave is simply too small for that."

"Shh!" Mathoni urged, waving one paw. "I can't hear with th' lot of ye blabbin' on like that!"

"Mathoni, really, I think ye're just imaginin' things." Illia remarked.

"Hello?" Mathoni called into the stone floor, ignoring Illia. "Hello, can ye 'ear me mate? If ye're wonderin', we ain't followers! We're Redwallers!"

"Mathoni!" Illia barked. "Look at yoreself! Ye're talkin' t' a rock floor! Now c'mon, forget about that, an'..."

"Whoa!" Mathoni suddenly remarked, as the rock floor underneath him suddenly shifted, and he quickly scampered off of it.

Once he was off, the section of floor started to lift upward, like someone was pushing it up from underneath.

"It's a secret opening!" Sarias exclaimed unnecessarily.

Quickly, everyone hurried over to help lift the stone out of position. Once it was out of the way, it revealed a mole a little older than the harvestmouse. Sarias recognized him instantly.

"Terra!" she exclaimed, relieved. "Thank heavens! Anyone else in there?"

"Just me, Silverpaw, Whyte..." Terra trailed off as he eyed the Redwallers that had gathered around the opening as well. "...who are you?"

"Friends." Mathoni remarked brightly, extending a paw for the mole to shake. "I'm Mathoni of Redwall, mate."

"Redwall?" Terra repeated. He grinned, then turned to Sarias. "Ha! Was I right, or was I right?"

"Uh, you were right...I guess." Sarias replied hesitantly. She shook her head. "More about that later, though. Who else is down there with you?"

"Not many, just me, Silverpaw, Whyteflower, and Slewtail." Terra asked, looking back down the long tunnel that presumably led into another chamber.

"Whyteflower?" the harvestmouse suddenly spoke up. "Really? I haven't seen her in a long time..."

"What's going on out here, anyway?" Terra asked, continuing. "The followers somehow found out about the cave, that's why I hid in here, but beyond that, I don't know what's going on.."

"What about Alexander, Deni, and the others?" Sarias asked urgently. "Do you know where any of them are at?"

"No." Terra remarked, his brow furrowed. He didn't like the worried look Sarias had. "Sarias, what's happened?"

* * *

For a young grey squirrel who had seemed so docile before, Deni was certainly putting up a fight now. Like Alexander, the squirrel had been forcibly taken back to his bedchambers by the teachers who were restraining him, a rat and a white-furred stoat. Deni protested every step of the way, slowing their progress considerably. Because unlike Alexander, who was quite quickly brought to his room, Deni found ways to slow the trip down. It didn't help that his room was further away than Alexander's, and that the teachers holding Deni captive had taken the long way to get there.

Deni had almost managed to slip away and escape a few times from the teacher's apparently slippery grasp, but he never quite succeeded. Still, he tried. But despite his best efforts, they finally and eventually did arrive at the bedchamber in question. Once there, Deni was forcibly brought down to his knees and held there by the weary and fed up rat while the equally tired stoat worked by himself with something on the other side of the room. Fearing the worst, Deni sought some way to escape, and squirmed against the rat that held him captive.

The rat growled. "In the name of Gemini, stop struggling!" he remarked, holding the young squirrel tighter to his body to try and restrict the youth's movements.

It ended up backfiring. Realizing how close he was to the rat's head, Deni swung his head backwards, and smacked the back of his skull hard against the rat's head. The rat cried out in surprise, and loosened his grip in surprise on Deni. It was enough that the squirrel quickly slipped out of the rat's grasp, and despite his spinning head, made a mad dash for the bedchamber door. The rat tried to grab Deni again by the tail, but his claws missed, grabbing only a few strands of grey fur. The stoat, however, seeing what was happening, lunged for Deni, and tackled the young squirrel just as he reached the doorway. In the fall, Deni smacked his already sore head against the stone frame, and everything suddenly went dark after that.

An unknown amount of time later, Deni came to again, and discovered that while he had been out, he had been strapped to the bed by rope, and save for making a few fruitless jerks and being able to turn his head side to side, was completely immobile. Alarmed, Deni quickly started struggling again. This drew the attention of the two teachers, who where now gathered at the closed dormitory door. They glanced at their captive.

"He is awake again." the rat observed.

"Very good." the stoat remarked, ready to get on with it, and left the door to head across the room to pick up a goblet of some sort. "We need to get on with this."

"But something is happening outside." the rat remarked, gesturing to the door. Sure enough, some kind of ruckus could be heard going on outside. "Should we not worry about that first?"

"We have our orders." the stoat remarked, taking the goblet back to Deni, who was still struggling. "We should not disobey Gemini."

He brought the drink towards Deni's lips. Deni prepared himself to spit out whatever was about to be forced into his mouth, but fortunately, he didn't ever need to. Before anyone could react, the door was suddenly forced open with a slam, knocking aside the rat teacher that still stood near it. Then, before the stoat and Deni could get a good look at the intruders, an arrow was fired into the paw that was hold the drink, making the stoat drop the goblet instantly, let out a yell, as he grabbed at the sore paw, stumbled backwards for a moment, then started forward to start a fight. He never got that far either as the creature who had fired the arrow hurried into the room, and swiftly fired another arrow that finished the stoat off. The rat had been knocked out cold when the door had slammed into him, so he was left alone for the moment.

Deni looked at his saviors in surprise as they all filed into the room, making sure it was secure. A couple of them were from the Quorum of Warriors, Deni recognized their copper-colored armor. But it seemed they had sided with a less uniform group of creatures that Deni did not recognize having met yet. One of them, a tall, muscular, middle-aged otter hurried up to Deni, looking the squirrel over in surprise.

"Wot in th' name of Martin were they doin'?" he remarked with a thick accent, the sort of which Deni had not heard in a long time, as the otter pulled out a knife and started cutting Deni's bindings. "They turnin' against their own followers now?"

"I'm not a Follower of Gemini, I was rebelling against it until they caught me." Deni replied urgently, getting up as the bonds were cut. "Who are you creatures?"

"Redwallers." the otter explained quickly, helping the young otter climb off the bed. "I'm Rowe, that mouse with the crossbow is Charles, an' that's Linus. We're 'ere t' stop these followers, an' t' get back Alexander. Speakin' of which..."

"Alexander?" Deni repeated, eyes going wide. "Oh, by the claw!"

He quickly hurried out of the room, leaving the others to turn and look at him in surprise.

"Hey, wait, mate!" Rowe exclaimed, racing after the young squirrel, the others following him.

Outside in the hallway, things were crowded. Frightened Followers of Gemini had come here seeking refuge when the attack began, but they were simply followed by the Redwallers and rebelling Quorum of Warriors. They were quickly subdued, and most were being captured and escorted back down to the front entry until one could take the time to deal with them properly. They were still doing this as Deni rushed into the hallway, but the young squirrel hardly noticed as he hurried down the straight hallway, dodging creatures as he ran, anxious to reach the room he knew Alexander had to be in by now.

As he ran, he skidded past two members of the Quorum of Warriors who were strolling past. Thinking Deni to be a follower, they both turned to capture him, but Rowe quickly barked out an order to stop them.

"No, let him go, it's all right!" Rowe said as he and everyone else pushed past the pair of warriors, then called to Deni, "Where ye goin' mate?"

"To Alexander!" Deni replied back, skidding to a stop before the door of Alexander's dormitory. "He's in here, he's in here!"

The youth quickly opened the dormitory door, and started in the room. Charles, having moved on ahead of the rest of the group, was close on the squirrel's heels. Seeing a teacher, a vole, in the room, having just finished placing Alexander in bed, the mouse whipped up his crossbow and fired at the teacher without aiming. The sleek arrow struck the vole teacher in the shoulder. He cried out, and started backing up due to the force of the blow. By the time he could pull himself together enough to start fighting back, Rowe had surged into the room, and with one blow from his fist, had sent the vole reeling, and onto the floor, out like a light.

Linus and Deni both went straight to Alexander's limp form lying in the bed, shaking him. Alexander, however, did not stir.

"Alexander, wake up!" Linus cried, shaking his son roughly. "C'mon, my son!" he blew out his breath, frustrated. "What's wrong with him?"

"I think they drugged him with that, that's what they were about to do to me!" Deni said, deducing this, and tracking down the bottle containing the mysterious liquid, and pointed to it.

Charles wandered over to where the bottle sat upon a table, picked it up and examined it for a moment, then carefully brought the opening near his snout and sniffed it. Immediately, he jerked his head away, thrusting the bottle away from him, squeezing his eyes shut as they started to water up.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise, blinking away the tears and coughing. "That's strong!"

Rowe wandered over and took the bottle from Charles and took a sniff himself. The reaction was the same. "Plagues an'...phew!" the otter cried as he thrust the bottle away from his wrinkled snout. "Not even a vermin's grog is that strong!"

"I don't care!" Linus said, still trying to get the unresponsive Alexander to wake up. "I just want to make sure my son's okay, can I can't do that if he won't wake up!"

"They probably drugged him with this drink." Charles reasoned logically, finding the cork for the bottle and plugging the bottle's opening with it. "They must have had a reason. Maybe they just wanted him to calm down and stop resisting."

"Maybe." Deni remarked, taking the bottle from Charles. "But that wouldn't fit with the Followers of Gemini. They're quite known to be able to take the rebellious and turn them into a follower overnight." he held up the bottle for all to see. "Maybe this drink has something to do with it."

Rowe took the bottle again, and thought about it for a few moments. "Havin' too much t' drink clouds yore thinkin'." he pointed out. "This might could it enough for somebeast t' convince a creature t' believe in somethin' he normally wouldn't."

"Are you saying that they were trying to force Alexander to become a follower?" Linus asked, alarmed, quickly grabbing his son's form and pressing it to him. "No, that can't be! Alexander wouldn't let them! He wouldn't!" he cradled the unconscious Alexander's form for a few moments. "Would he?"

Rowe placed a reassuring paw on Linus's shoulder. "I'm sure he wouldn't willingly, Linus." he said. "But...y'know that we won't know for sure 'til he wakes up."

Linus nodded. He did know that much, but he didn't want to admit it. He looked at his son's unresponsive body for several long moments, worry etched on his features, bushy tail drooping.

"Let's take him down t' th' entry hall with everyone else, ye can keep an eye on 'im there." Rowe suggested, helping place Alexander to be carried in his father's arms. "'Sides, everybody else is goin' t' start headin' there anyway. I just wonder where the devil Kani is..."

* * *

Like the others, Tobias had his own party of creatures he was leading to subdue and capture the Followers of Gemini. In his case, however, things were fairly uneventful, as they found and was exploring the hallway of classrooms, which had all been empty apparently at the time of the attack. They didn't find much of anybeast, and most of those that they did, were members of the Quorum of Warriors who were passing by. Tobias was starting to think that he was missing out on the action.

But then, he found a locked door that led into what appeared o lead into an empty storeroom when they forced it open. Empty, that is, save for the multitude of young creatures, appearing to be followers, that had been hiding in the room. When Tobias and his party forced their way in, the hiding creatures all gasped at the fact that they had been discovered, and were easily frightened at the sight of the strange beasts forcing their way in.

Tobias, thinking that they were followers, motioned that they all stay put. "Nobody move!" he ordered.

They weren't moving already, save for the odd tremble of fear, so this was easily done.

Finally, after a few moments as Tobias and his party filing into the room to get a better look of who was in there, one of them spoke.

"Who are you?" he said nervously. "You aren't followers, are you?"

"No, I'm Tobias of Redwall." Tobias replied simply, not thinking too much of it.

This grabbed the attention of everyone in the room, however.

"Redwallers?" the first creature responded in surprise. "Really? Then...you're here to stop the followers?"

Tobias was silent for a moment, not really expecting this response. "Er...aye."

The group of creatures then all suddenly began cheering, and several rushed forward to pull the startled Tobias into hugs. Shortly thereafter, Tobias got the whole story, and learned that the whole group were actually rebels to the followers, and had been hiding in here to avoid capture. They had heard that there was a chance that the Redwallers would come and stop the followers (Tobias guess they had learned that from Alexander), and were immensely pleased to see it come true.

So when Tobias and his party started back for the entry hall, they were accompanied by a multitude of other creatures, immensely happy to see the reign of Gemini finally fall. Tobias wasn't really expecting anymore surprises after this, but he was again caught off guard when his party crossed paths with someone else, exiting out of a spiral staircase that led only down.

"Kani!" the otter exclaimed in surprise, seeing the fox, accompanied by Melody and a mouse teacher. "Wot happened t' ye, mate? That a prisoner ye got there? Wot were ye doin' down there? Did ye find out anythin' more 'bout Gemini?"

It was then that the young otter noticed the glaring mouse that Kani had been leading along, the creatures paws tied behind his back.

"You're looking at him." Kani replied, motioning to the mouse.

* * *

"There." Illia remarked as the last of the found followers was added to the large group that had been gathered in the entry hall, guarded by members of the Quorum of Warriors. "I think that's th' last of th' lot."

"Looks like it to me." Terra remarked, who had been keeping track of the numbers of the followers. "If not, there's only less than a dozen missing, not counting the several members of the rebellion that are still unaccounted for." he looked worried about this last fact. "I hope they're all right."

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Terra." Sarias assured the mole.

Mathoni studied the gathering of captured followers for a moment, shaking his head. "Sure are a lot of 'em."

"The better to control the land with, Mathoni." Charles remarked calmly. "Whomever or whatever Gemini is or was, he certainly had power in numbers."

"Aye, but not enough t' stop th' likes of us." Rowe murmured aloud, pacing back and forth before the captured followers. He shook his head. "Kani should've been back 'ere by now. Where has he gotten t'?"

"I'm right here, Skipper Rowe."

The group turned, and saw, sure enough, Kani walking determinedly towards them, accompanied by Melody, the mouse teacher, Tobias and his party, and the last of the rebel creatures.

"Kani!" Mathoni exclaimed, pleased to see his friend safe and sound. "There ye are, mate! Wot 'ave ye been up t' durin' all of this?"

"Been busy, busy, busy." Kani remarked, towing his mouse prisoner with him as he slipped through the group and towards the captured followers. "See you finished gathering up the rest of the followers, as Tobias said you would be. Good, I wish to have a word with them."

Taking Gemini with him, Kani stepped up to the attentive group of prisoners alone, and stopped before them. He got right to the point.

"Followers of Gemini!" he said loudly. "Have a good look at your deity."

And with that, he thrust Gemini before the group, the bound mouse falling to his knees in the process, but maintained his treacherous glare nonetheless. The followers stared at the creature for a moment in silence. Then, slowly, skeptical murmuring began to arise, many unsure what to make of this. Some of the more devout followers raised their voice to ridicule Kani for the trick they perceived he was playing.

"He lies!" one of them shouted. "This creature cannot be Gemini!"

Then the mouse teacher stepped forward to join Kani. "It is true." he spoke, sounding almost apologetic. "I have seen it for my own eyes. The fox speaks the truth. This mouse is the real Gemini."

The murmuring increased, the followers shocked that a teacher was actually backing up this seemingly wild claim. Again, the more devout voiced their disapproval of this, but even they seemed less sure of themselves.

"Followers, you have always listened and been loyal to the word of a member of the Quorum of Teachers." the mouse teacher went on. "You have never doubted the truthfulness of our word. So listen to what I am telling you now. This wicked mouse is truly Gemini. The things he had led us to believe was mere deception. Everything we have been taught is false. The faith we have been practicing is naught but an elaborate trick devised by this creature, and possibly others, to gain control over us. They never were looking out for our well being. They simply wished to have power over us. And we were all foolish enough to give them that power." he was silent for a moment, looking quite saddened again. "Please, brethren, believe the truth that we have placed before you. Do not be so ignorant that you continue to believe in lies."

Silence fell in the entry hall. The capture followers still seemed unsure about it all. They had doubts now, but it wasn't enough.

Seeing this, Kani prodded Gemini with one footpaw. "Say something to them, _Gemini_." he ordered, using the mouse's assumed name mockingly.

The mouse turned his glare to Kani for a moment, then looked back at the creatures that had once followed him loyally to their deaths. "I have nothing to say to wicked creatures, Kani Fennix."

Someone in the group, a member of the Quorum of Priests who had spoken to Gemini before back in the catacombs before this all happened, gasped, and stood up in surprise. He recognized the voice.

"It _is _Gemini!" he cried in shock.

That settled the matter. All at once, the captured followers rose and began crying out their shock at being deceived. Some were angry at being fooled for so long, others were near tears. The ruckus grew to the point that their guards grew nervous, and readied themselves to subdue them again if necessary, but Melody, seeing where this was heading, signaled them to stand down. The commotion was allowed to go on for a few moments longer, then the mouse teacher motioned for silence, walking over to one side of the entry hall.

"You now know the truth." he said, standing firmly at the new location. "Now, choose which side you are on."

With that, he traced an imaginary line on the stone floor with his footpaw, and waited. Terra, his rebels, and the Quorum of Warriors, all promptly stepped over the invisible line to stand beside the mouse teacher. The Redwallers joined them. A moment of silence fell as everyone looked at the captured followers expectantly. It seemed none of them wanted to be first to swap sides. Finally, however, the priest who had confirmed that the mouse really was Gemini, slowly crossed the line to join the mouse teacher. Others started to follow, until everyone had crossed the line. Even a confused, but convinced, Surt swapped sides.

Finally, all who remained on the wrong side of the line, was Gemini.

Still glaring.

His gall annoyed Kani. "Give it up, Gemini!" he said, moving to the front of the group that had gathered behind the line. "Without your followers, you're just an ordinary mouse again."

Gemini stood, and nodded. "So I am." he agreed.

He then swallowed something. Kani furrowed his brow, and wondered what it was. Murmuring started to break loose within the crowd again.

Gemini merely smiled at this, the first time anyone had seen him do it. "So long, Kani Fennix." he remarked.

Then, he closed his eyes, let out his breath with a shudder, then fell to his knees, wobbling. As the murmuring increased at this, Kani started forward, sensing that something was wrong. By the time he reached Gemini, the mouse had fallen to the floor, and lay their motionlessly. It wasn't long after this that he was proclaimed dead.

* * *

It took Sarias and the rest of the Quorum of Healers with whom she was all but a member of more than two hours to determine what had happened exactly. And even then, it was only a theory.

"As far as we can figure out, he had some poisonous herbs hidden in his mouth." Sarias reported later. "He probably hid them there just before Kani captured him."

"Explains why he wasn't too talkative." Kani remarked.

"When he decided enough was enough, he simply swallowed, and let the poison kill him." Sarias went on. "In short, Gemini committed suicide."

"One crazy beast, that 'un." Mathoni noted after this.

But even though no one was quite sure what to think of Gemini's suicide, it did help resolve what to do with the creature. Kani had actually been worried that, had the ex-followers been left to deal with the mouse themselves, Gemini probably would have met a much worse end. For they were understandably none-too-happy about him. They didn't really feel much sorrow for seeing the mouse die.

If fact, they were, in the end, glad. While the once Followers of Gemini seemed tentative about their change of heart at first, they quickly discovered that they enjoyed the newfound freedom that came with doing that. They discovered that they were suddenly able to do things they couldn't have done before as followers, and furthermore, now they chose for themselves, instead of letting Gemini choose for them.

As night fell, a celebration was quickly put in order. Using the supplies still to be found all throughout the sanctuary, while adding in some of the supplies the Redwallers had brought with them, a feast was quickly prepared and eaten in front of the sanctuary. They did it outside because the former followers had all exited the sanctuary, and now didn't want to go back in it, as it had symbolized their time under Gemini's command, and they weren't keen to go back to that. So for now, it was left empty.

And outside, they celebrated. The followers kept cheering the Redwallers for their help in the events that had led to this, though the Redwallers kept directing the praise to Kani, as it was he who had made it possible by getting the Quorum of Warriors to switch sides. But Kani, in turn, directed the praise to Mathoni, as it was his idea to use subterfuge to attack the sanctuary from inside out. Mathoni was too modest to care. He was just glad it had all ended well.

And ended well it did. Few had been killed in the whole attack, and of those creatures, the only ones who died were only the teachers, not counting Gemini, of course. The former followers didn't find this surprising, as the teachers were considered to be the most loyal of all of the followers, and were usually sworn to die before they succumbed to the influence of a "wicked" creature.

Of those teachers, only about six survived, including the mouse teacher, the vole teacher that had been with Alexander when the Redwallers had found him, the two teachers that had been captured when the Redwallers and Quorum of Warriors first arrived at the sanctuary, and two more that were unaccounted for. Deni remarked that they were probably in the other patrols that had been sent out in a vain search for Silverpaw shortly before this all happened. Most likely, the two teachers and their party had seen what had happened from afar and fled. Some concern was voiced about this, but the mouse teacher assured them that without Gemini to direct them, they would be lost, and therefore decided that with their pitiful numbers, they would be little threat to anyone else.

Things grew more cheerful still when, in the middle of the festivities, Alexander regained consciousness and proved that, despite being dizzy, having a splitting headache, and having nothing but dim memories of what had occurred between him getting captured and waking up here, he was no worse for wear. Linus was immensely pleased to hear this, so happy to have his son back, that he refused to leave Alexander's side. This was to Alexander's embarrassment as Deni, who had been with Alexander as well since he woke up, found Linus's antics to be amusing.

Clearly, the cheerfulness of the evening was catching.

Linus was also shown the recordbook Kani and Melody had recovered from Gemini's lair during all of this, and was asked if he could translate what was written on it. With some work, he said that he could, but just barely. The text was written in a form of handwriting Linus termed as the "old hand." This style of text was used by Redwallers back in the time of Martin the Warrior, but had since been put out of use. Thankfully, as there were still several recordbooks at Redwall that used this handwriting, Linus knew how to read it.

In the case of Gemini's recordbooks, however, the handwriting was some kind of variant of the old hand, and was "tainted," as Linus had phrased it, with new terms, styles, and dialects that Linus wasn't as familiar with. Therefore, there were whole parts he couldn't translate, and didn't think he ever would without knowing more about this tainted old hand handwriting.

"I've translated enough to get the general gist of it, though." he assured those who had gathered to listen to the benefits of his work. Linus shut the book and held it up. "Basically, all this recordbook is talking about the major events that took place during the reign of this particular Gemini."

Kani blinked in surprise. "'This particular Gemini?'" he repeated hesitantly.

"That's right." Linus said with a nod. "As near as I can figure, the Followers of Gemini, as an organization, has existed since nearly the time of Matthias the warrior, although back then it wasn't nearly as powerful. Now, obviously, our Gemini, being a mortal creature, couldn't have been alive for all of that. Apparently, it had been started by a creature who called himself Gemini, who ruled until he grew old. At that point in time, he tracked down a maiden that would soon be giving birth, declared that the child would be his heir, and brought up the child to fill in the role of Gemini once it was born. When the first Gemini died off, the child would fill in the role, taking up the identity of Gemini in the process. It's been going on like that ever since."

"So the Gemini we met today was only the last of a long line of Geminis." Melody reasoned.

Linus nodded. "They weren't all mice, either." he added. "The recordbook refers briefly to our Gemini's predecessor in the beginning, and, judging from the description provided, it sounded like that predecessor was a weasel." he sighed. "Whatever the case, it was clear that they lived and supported the religion they taught. It even sounds like at times that Gemini really thought he was the deity he was posing as."

"Scary." Alexander remarked from where he was propped up beside his father, still fighting off the residual effects of being drugged.

"Told ye that beast was crazy." Mathoni muttered, poking a stick into the fire and watching it catch fire.

"But wot I want t' know is why they did it." Illia remarked, sitting beside Tobias. "I mean, sounds t' me that these Gemini creatures got even less freedom than their followers. So why do all of that t' just support a religion?"

"Illia has a point, mates." her twin agreed. "Why would they give up their own freedom for this?"

"Well, I can't know more without studying more of the books, preferably starting from the beginning." Linus remarked, pausing to sup a drink so to wet his throat. "But I can still guess. And I think that the original Gemini's intent was to use the ruse of religion to gather creatures to support them and their land. It was a trick to gain power, and a very clever and elaborate one at that. But, as the seasons went by, that goal was probably lost, and instead the religion became a true faith, save for the fact that it was false, and all resources went into supporting the spread of that faith."

"By force, if needed." Rowe added. He shook his head, but then shrugged. "At least we've put an end t' it, right?"

"Certainly." the mouse teacher commented, from where he also sat in the group. "But the path ahead will not be easy. We may acknowledge that the Geminic faith is false, and have freed ourselves from Gemini's power, but many of us will still not know what to do with ourselves."

"He's right." Deni agreed from beside Alexander. "A lot of us have spent the better part of our lives as followers, or at least pretending to be them. We don't know any other life."

"Some will not have homes or families to return to, either." the mouse teacher added. "If they can even remember having such things." at this, he looked a little embarrassed. "I cannot."

"We'll help in anyway we can." Charles remarked. "And no matter what, you will always have a home at Redwall." he jabbed Kani playfully in the ribs. "I mean, if we let a fox stay there, why not ex-Followers of Gemini?"

Everybody laughed at this. Except for Kani, who stared into the fire for a long moment.

"I can't return to Redwall." he announced suddenly. "Not yet."

A moment of silence fell, as everyone looked at the fox in surprise.

"What do you mean you can't?" Linus asked. "If it's Machaerus you're thinking of, I'd think that not even he could argue that you haven't earned your right to stay there."

"No, it's not that." Kani assured them. "I'm just...not finished. I have something else I need to do. Elsewhere."

Mathoni caught on. "Ye mean ye plan on goin' home?" he asked.

Kani nodded. "Yes, home." he said. "To Angola."

* * *

_Author's Note: Shaking things up a bit and putting this at the end of the chapter this time around. Did it for mostly dramatic effect, so that the cliffhanger from last chapter would hook in nicely with the start of this chapter without interruption. Anyway, sorry that this chapter is a week late. Just started another semiester of college, and all the work ended up piling up last weekend. Had enough time to start writing this chapter, but didn't finish it. As the week wore on afterwards, though, I then decided to use this chance to go ahead an wrap up the rest of the Gemini storyarc and get on with the story and just post it next weekend on schedule, like nothing had happened. So, that's what I did, and you got an extra-long chapter as a result. :D_

_Now, next chapter, we're going to be catching up with events in Angola, which I have been looking forward to. Got some big things planned, y'see. ;)  
_


	59. Chapter 58

And here we have an Angola-centric chapter, covering what we've missed during all of this. Actually, not a whole lot, but you'll see. Great to be back and covering Angola again, I had started to miss the bunch. And I've got a few ideas in store, so...well...you'll see. ;)

Chapter 58

Things had not improved in Angola.

In fact, the situation had hardly changed.

True to his word, Captain Moroni and his followers, which now included every male mouse capable of fighting in the village, stood their ground, and besieged Midnight Castle. Bottled up inside, Methusael and what few followers he had left couldn't go anywhere. No creature got in or out, nor did any supplies, which meant that only the supplies already existing in the castle was all Methusael and his crew had, and would not last forever.

In the village, the so-called rebels had full control, something only Methusael disputed, even though he presently couldn't do anything about it. Whomever was not working with the Angolian militia to keep Midnight Castle surrounded stayed in the village, where life more or less continued as usual, except everyone was more tense, and constantly looking up at the castle that overlooked the valley, for everyone knew that the very fate of Angola currently hinged upon what occurred there.

The side favorite to win in the conflict among the mice was currently Captain Moroni, whom they all recognized as the creature trying to prevent a terrible fate befalling the land. Very few of the mice held much of any respect to Methusael anymore. His actions as of late, particularly that at the planned, but failed, execution of Moroni and Bluejay that started the conflict, had caused the fox to loose all prestige in the view of the mice. They no longer supported him.

Worse still, was that the members of the royal guard that were bottled up in Midnight Castle as well and was Methusael's only real support that he had left weren't really supporting him that much anymore either. They saw the situation as lost, that there was no point in continuing the conflict. Many of them had been quite outspoken about surrendering to the mice than letting this conflict continue. And few were very keen about the idea of a battle breaking out with the mice that would force blood to be shed, which fortunately had not really happened since the siege began.

Even the two mercenaries under Methusael's employ, Grim and Sais, that Methusael had managed to keep their presence in Midnight Castle secret, were starting to loose their confidence in their employer. They were of little more use to Methusael either, for after the siege had began, not even the two mercenaries could get out of the castle safely. It was only by a sheer stroke of luck that they had managed to get back in anyway, after failing to find and stop Adah. A stroke of luck that could not be repeated.

And Methusael knew it.

So he saw no harm in uncorking the bottle of powerful blackberry wine he had found hidden away in the throne room, and taking it to his study to drink, in a vain attempt to try and drown his problems with the substance. He had already gotten through roughly half the bottle before Juniper turned up and found him.

"Your lordship," the young fox began, opening and stepping through the study room door without knocking, "I wish to report that..." he trailed off when he saw Methusael lounging in the chair behind the desk, footpaws propped up on the desktop, draining a glassful of the dark purple wine, the bottle itself sitting nearby on the desk.

Methusael turned to look at him when he did not continue after a moment. He was still sober somewhat, but it was also clear he was still under the effects of the alcohol as well. "Go on, Juniper." he prompted after a moment.

"Um," Juniper, quickly avoiding Methusael's gaze as if it was impolite to look the intoxicated lord in the eye, and sought to continue with his original thought, "I, uh, though you would like to know that we completed taking account of our supplies. We could last for about another month if we ration those supplies greatly, but by the end of that month, we'll be virtually eating a bread crumb a day to survive." he paused as he watched Methusael grab the bottle of blackberry wine and refill his wineglass. "Your lordship, are you sure it is wise to be doing that?" he asked despite himself.

Methusael drained half the glass with one gulp, pulling a slight grimace at the drink's kick, but shrugged it off, and he stood. "Might as well, Juniper," he said, taking out another empty glass and filling it as well, "What do we have left to loose, eh?" he offered the new cup to Juniper, but Juniper silently turned it down. "Those accursed mice have us completely besieged."

"Yes milord." Juniper wasn't sure how else to respond.

Methusael drained the rejected glass he had poured for Juniper, then returned to his first glass. "So," he continued, changing the subject, "about our supplies issue. Any ideas how we can get more?"

"Well, we either look into creating a garden somewhere in the castle, or find someway to get more supplies from outside the castle." Juniper replied, being blunt.

"But we can't get more from outside; the rebels have us completely cut off."

"Exactly the problem, milord."

Methusael grunted, and gave the matter some thought, swirling the dregs of his wine in his glass as he did so. Juniper also thought about the matter for a few moments.

"Milord," he began carefully, "why can't we just surrender?"

"Surrender?" Methusael repeated, looking stunned. Slowly, he set down the wineglass, and leaned forward on the desk, eyes narrowing. "Surrender, Juniper?"

"With all due respect, we may have no other choice, your lordship." Juniper pointed out.

"We haven't lost yet."

"Might as well have, your lordship. We're at a tactical disadvantage, and outnumbered."

"We have skill on our side, though, don't we? The royal guard is military trained, and among the best of the best. The mice have no such skills."

"True, your lordship, but with their numbers, they won't need it. Furthermore, they have access to resources, and could easily outlast us in a siege." Juniper hesitated a moment, then added, "We should really consider surrendering to them, your lordship."

"Surrendering would mean giving them what they want, Juniper." Methusael said, stepping from around his desk to face the highest-ranking officer of the royal guard fully, "And they're the rebels. What do you _think _would happen if we surrendered to them, hmm? What would happen to Angola?"

"At this rate, it cannot be much worse than not surrendering, your lordship." Juniper said flatly, not backing down. "Not at the rate things are going here. We cannot win."

"I will be the judge of that, Juniper." Methusael growled. "And I say we still have a chance to win, if we simply wait for the chance to present itself."

"We have been waiting for more than a week, your lordship. Is that not long enough?"

"Obviously not."

"So you would rather have us starve, then? Because that is going to start happening in a matter of days. No matter how we ration the food, there will simply be less and less with each passing day. Very soon, we will be simply too _weak_ with _hunger _to resist the mice. By the end of the month, we will have _starved_, your lordship."

Methusael frowned, and turned his back to Juniper. The fox continued speaking.

"That is, unless, we start eating each other."

Methusael glanced back at him. "I won't stoop that low."

"That's good to know, your lordship."

Giving another low growl, but otherwise not protesting the matter further, Methusael stepped back around the desk and reached for his wineglass. "There must be a solution, Juniper, and I intend to find it. And until then..."

He got no further than that when, unexpectedly, an arrow was shot through the window behind the desk, shot through the wineglass Methusael was just about to grab, shattering it, then whisked past Juniper and embedded itself in the doorframe of the study door. Surprised, both creatures dropped the floor, fearing more arrows.

"They're sniping at us!" Methusael snapped loudly from where he lay under the window, clearly frustrated at the situation. "The mice have hardly fired a shot since this absurd siege began, why start now?"

Juniper looked carefully over the desk at the window, and saw that no more arrows were being fired, then looked across the room to where the arrow had embedded itself. He noticed that a piece of parchment had been tied around it's shaft.

"I...don't think they planned this to be interpreted as an attack, your lordship." Juniper remarked, getting up and heading towards the arrow, pulling it free from the doorframe.

Methusael sat up as well to look. He watched Juniper for a moment, then looked back at the jagged hole the arrow had left in the single pane of glass in the window. "Why the arrow then?" he asked.

"To deliver a message." Juniper said, his brow furrowed as he unrolled the parchment and read the message written on it. He looked up at Methsuael. "They're asking for our terms of surrender."

Methusael blinked, and jumped up to his feet at this. "Them too?" he asked, looking bewilderedly out the window for the culprit that fired the arrow. He saw no one.

"Clearly, they know of our predicament just as well as we do." Juniper reasoned flatly, bringing the message to Methusael.

The fox grabbed it from Juniper and ripped it up without reading it. "It changes nothing!" he argued. "We will not surrender! There is a way out of this, I know it! And I will find it!"

* * *

In the kitchen of Moroni's home, the key people of the Angolian rebellion was working on their own plans.

"All right, let's start with what we know." Moroni began, motioning to the map of Midnight Castle that had been drawn and now lay on the table before them with one paw. "Where are all of the exits in and out of the castle?"

"Here, here, here, here, and here are the conventual ones." Mordecai remarked, pointing at the spots with his claw. "And I know of a few lesser used ones here, here, and here."

"Don't forget the secret tunnel we found that runs along the dungeons." Amulek pointed out, tapping his claw at the general vicinity of the tunnel on the map, even though it was not on it. "That could potentially be used as an entrance."

"Or an exit." Hyrum pointed out.

"Doesn't help that both sides knows it's there, does it?" Ammon commented.

"Let's just stick with what we know." Moroni pressed, then tapped the map again. "Now, how many creatures do we know to be in there?"

"Roughly about four score of the royal guard, and Methusael, not counting any servants that are in there as well, by our last count." Neph replied. "And we know that Methusael has guards stationed at all of the trademark entrances and exits. The rest are stationed all throughout the castle within, out of sight."

"And we know that Methusael typically stays in the upper levels, either in Kani's study, or the royal chambers." Bluejay added, pointing.

Moroni stared at the map for a few moments, processing this information. He shook his head. "I'm just drawing a blank." he confessed. "I mean, I can see a whole mess of ways to potentially get in the castle, and take it by force, but...I want to try and do this as peacefully as possible."

"Unfortunately, we may not have that choice, Captain Moroni." Mordecai remarked, sitting down in a chair at the table.

"We _do _outnumber them, however." Amulek said. "We can still fight this battle and win."

"Yes, but not without losses on both sides, and there is still a good chance it all ends poorly for us." Moroni said. "If it did come to a full frontal battle, I would rather that I had more creatures in our ranks."

"We already have every capable fighting creature in the village rallied to us, though." Neph pointed out.

Moroni nodded. "I know."

"We could just wait a little longer." Hyrum remarked, scratching his head between the ears. "I mean, we know that resources at the castle are running low, and are about to run out. That has to be seriously trying the loyalty of the royal guard. If we wait long enough, they might just turn against Methusael on their own, and solve our problems for us."

"Yes, but then again, they might not." Ammon said. "And who knows how much longer that might take."

"We can afford to wait." Neph said. "We have the steady flow of supplies."

"Yes, but...should we really have to wait?" Ammon reasoned.

"Waiting could possibly resolve this more peacefully, however." Moroni confessed. He sighed, then looked to one corner of the kitchen. "What are your thoughts, Mistress Adah? Any ideas?"

Adah was the only one who wasn't gathered right at the table, and instead stood off to one side, leaning against the kitchen wall, and looking at her footpaws. She looked up when she was addressed, and was silent for a moment.

"Well," she began, "there is one thing we could wait for." she took a step towards the table. "Kani."

The gathering looked at one another, considering this possibility.

"I suppose," Amulek said, "But we have no guarantee his lordship would return with the necessary help."

"Or in time." Ammon said. "He's been gone for several weeks now, with no signs whatsoever that he will be coming back anytime soon."

"Or at all." Moroni confessed, lowering his head. "Adah, I know you don't want to hear it, but Kani has already been gone far longer than any of us anticipated. Something must have happened. And we know that Methusael sent a mercenary after him, so maybe..."

"No, if that were true, that mercenary would have come back by now, but she has been just as long herself." Adah pointed out. "Kani still lives, I know it. Something has simply...delayed him."

"I do not believe we can wait for him, however." Mordecai commented. "This situation cannot continue like this for much longer."

"Mordecai's right, either we strike soon, or Methusael will, and then the whole matter will be in fate's paws whether we like it or not." Bluejay agreed. "We cannot afford to wait. For Kani, or for anything. We need to decide on our move and make it. Quickly."

Moroni nodded. "Agreed." he said, rolling up the plans. "So here's the deal. Mordecai, Bluejay, Adah, you all know Midnight Castle better than we do. Sit down and try and think of anything we might have overlooked about it. Hyrum, I believe you're going to be heading up to the castle for a turn on patrol? When you go up there, keep your eyes out for anything we can use to our advantage. Amulek, I liked your message arrow idea we tried earlier today. Go ahead and look into trying it again. Use the same message, a request to surrender. Maybe sooner or later, someone in Midnight Castle will listen. As for the rest of you, just sit tight. One way or another, we're going to finish this matter once and for all."

Everyone nodded in understanding, and broke apart to go carry out their assigned duties. Moroni stayed to finish wrapping the materials they had pulled out, put them away, then stepped out of the kitchen. On his way out, he crossed paths with his wife.

"Ruth, good afternoon." he greeted, as they passed by each other. Once they had, he paused, then followed his wife into the kitchen, giving her a puzzled look. "Everything all right?"

"Yes, of course it is, Moroni, you worry about your rebellion." Ruth replied, pulling out a loaf of bread and slicing it distractedly. She seemed tired.

Moroni frowned. "You sure?" he asked. "You haven't been yourself lately."

"It's this confounded rebellion, Moroni." Ruth snapped, taking a slice and biting into it.

"No, it's more than that, something else is bugging you." Moroni persisted, approaching his wife. "You have been more irritable than usual, more tired, and you just seem over all...off." he looked her up and down for a moment, noting her attire. "And you've been wearing that robe a lot lately. You sure there isn't anything wrong?"

"No, I'm fine, Moroni, I'm just..." Ruth trailed off for a moment, glancing at her husband, "...cold."

"Cold?" Moroni repeated, finding that hard to believe. He reached out to feel her forehead with his paw, but Ruth moved out of reach. "You aren't ill, are you?"

"No, no, I'm fine, you just worry about your stupid rebellion." Ruth said, avoiding eye contact.

Moroni stared at her for a moment, then pulled her into a caring hug. "Ruth, don't be like that." he pleaded. "Ever since this whole mess began, you have been very cold with me. I probably have deserved it, and I haven't been giving you the attention like I should. But that doesn't mean I don't want to, that I don't care for you, that this rebellion is more important than you are."

"Yes it is." Ruth said, starting to pull away. "Angola's very fate hinges on this rebellion. It's fate is in your paws. Of course it matters more."

Moroni was silent for a moment again. Then, he pulled Ruth back to him, and kissed her.

"Ruth, I'm more worried about whether or not your happy than whether or not Angola is about to fall apart." he promised her. "You mean the world to me. Maybe I haven't shown it recently, but it's true." he nuzzled her cheek with his snout for a moment. "I want you to know that."

Ruth didn't reply, but Moroni could tell that she couldn't argue the point. She returned Moroni's hug, and the two stayed that way for few moments. Finally, Moroni pulled away again.

"Now, I'm going to go and have Sister Daisy come in and check you over..." he began.

"Oh, Moroni..." Ruth began to object, but Moroni gently silenced her by pressing a claw to her lips.

"I want to make sure you are all right, and not falling ill." he pressed. "Please let me do that much."

Ruth hesitated, then nodded. "All right." she said. "So long as Daisy does it."

"Of course, anything you say." Moroni said, giving her a grin, a brush through her whiskers, then one last kiss before he turned to leave. "I'll be right back when I'm done with that. And remember Ruth, if there's anything wrong, you tell me, understand? I want to know."

Ruth nodded. "Yes, I will." she promised. She watched her husband leave, then added under her breath, "all accept for one thing."


	60. Chapter 59

Sixtieth chapter if you count the prologue (which Fanfiction is doing). Picks up from where the last chapter left off, and is all about Ruth. By the end of the chapter, Ruth will finally be explained. I have long-debated whether or not I wanted to do this little story arc, fearing it could backfire, or drag out the story even longer than it needed to (as I never expected the story to last this long) but I finally decided that if I keep it short and simple, it could be done. So I'm doing it. And I guess I'll see what the reaction is. :)

Chapter 59

Ruth had known she would be coming, but even with the forewarning, she still wasn't ready for when she actually arrived. She fidgeted nervously with her claws for a moment when she heard the polite knock on her bedroom door, and took a few deep breaths to try and keep herself calm. She wasn't sure she could do this. Her husband was one thing, but to hide this from her...

The knock came again, quickly followed by a polite and gentle call. "Ruth, can I come in?" Sister Daisy called.

Ruth took one last deep breath, straightened the robe she wore over he clothes, then stood, turning to face the door. "Come in, Daisy."

Sister Daisy opened the door as instructed and calmly entered. She gave Ruth a very polite and happy grin, then closed the door behind her. "Hi, Ruth." she greeted sweetly. "Moroni said you were a bit under the weather."

Ruth couldn't help but snort at this. "I'm fine, Daisy, perfectly fine." she stated flatly. "If I could just get that into Moroni's thick skull..." she looked heavenward for a moment, shook her head, then sighed deeply, her frustration suddenly evaporating. "Look, I know he means well, but I really am fine."

"Well, let me just confirm that then." Sister Daisy said, stepping towards her. "Now, Ruth, Moroni commented that you have been more irritable lately, and physically tired."

"It's just stress." Ruth assured her, watching Sister Daisy closely as she came closer, but not too close, "From the rebellion."

"Yes, that certainly would account for it." Daisy agreed, looking Ruth up and down with a critical eye. Ruth watched her just as carefully. "Still...I think Moroni has enough cause for concern. All of this fighting and conspiracy is getting to everyone, but I daresay that assuming what you say is true..."

"And it is." Ruth quickly interjected.

"...then it's hitting you the hardest of all." Daisy continued undeterred. "Ruth, have you looked at yourself lately? You look so worn down...have you been getting enough sleep?"

Ruth wasn't sure how to answer that. "I'm not sure." she confessed truthfully. "Whenever I go to bed, I sleep like a rock, thankfully, but..." she shrugged, "you tell me."

"Well, you certainly look like you haven't." Daisy said, concern etched onto her features. "And this robe you're wearing...you must be getting very hot in that." She pressed her paw against Ruth's forehead, despite Ruth flinching slightly. "You're not running a fever though, not that I can tell...you aren't cold, are you?"

"Not...too cold." Ruth admitted, choosing her words carefully. "I just...prefer to wear the robe."

Sister Daisy gave the other mouse a critical eye at this comment. "Whatever for, Ruth?" she asked. "If you had been going around in only a nightgown all day, then certainly, I can see the logic, but here you are, fully dressed."

Ruth didn't reply, and instead avoided making eye contact with Sister Daisy.

"Ruth, what's wrong?" Daisy inquired. "Really, tell me."

Ruth hesitated. "Nothing's wrong, Daisy."

"Then why all the secrecy about it? You seem so...defensive about the matter, Ruth. Your poor husband is so worried about you, and I daresay he has enough on his plate already."

"Yes, he does." Ruth agreed immediately. "He doesn't have the time to worry about me."

Daisy blinked in surprise. "Ruth!" she exclaimed, "Your husband..."

"No, it's not like that, Daisy." Ruth quickly interjected. "I know he loves me, and I love him. Nothing about that has changed. But...he is the leader of all of this, and currently our only real hope of getting out of this confounded mess. He doesn't need me distracting him with trivial things!"

Daisy was silent for a moment. "What sort of trivial things, Ruth?" she asked, slowly and deliberately.

Ruth sighed, and again hesitated. Daisy got the strong impression that she was indeed hiding something. "I'm just...depressed is all, Daisy." she confessed. "This...this isn't the most ideal environment for...for...for anyone to be living in."

Daisy's expression softened slightly. "Well, I can certainly understand that, Ruth." she said. "But hiding that isn't going to help. If you need to talk, Ruth, then by all means, let's talk about it. Don't keep whatever it is that's bothering you bottled up inside of you."

Ruth was silent for another moment. "I'm just...frustrated at all of this." she confessed. "I can't stand the idea that we're...stuck. That we can't end this situation we're stuck in any faster. Suppose for a moment that it never ends? That this battle continues on and on, and that a day can never pass without you knowing how safe it'll be, and if tomorrow will be any better, and..."

She trailed off, close to tears now, but was trying hard to keep them in. Daisy softened even more at this, and wrapped a reassuring arm around Ruth. Ruth flinched, not expecting the arm, but otherwise did not object.

"Ruth, we're going to get out of this." Sister Daisy assured her. "One way or another, we will. We already have Methusael at a great disadvantage. We simply need to find the right time and place to strike and...well...finish it. It might not end happily for everyone, and certainly not peacefully, but it _will _end. And once it does, everything will go back to the way it was before."

Ruth was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Of course." she said. "You're right, Daisy, of course you are, it's just...hard to remember to stay optimistic. And what I long most is to know _when _it will all end. It needs to end soon."

Daisy nodded in agreement. "Of course it does. And it will."

"But it's hard to know. And I need to know. Because if it doesn't end soon, what will I do when..." Ruth suddenly cut herself short, and fell silent.

Daisy, realizing that Ruth was about to say something important, turned to look at her. "Yes?" she prompted, wanting Ruth to finish the statement.

"Never mind." Ruth said quickly but quietly. "It's not that important."

"You sure?" Daisy asked, not convinced, and led Ruth towards her bed. "It's all right to tell me, you know. Here, let's sit down and..."

"No, no, I'll stand, thank you." Ruth quickly assured her.

"Fine, just tell me what it is that you aren't telling me, Ruth."

"Who says I'm not telling you anything?"

"I convinced that you are."

"I'm fine Daisy."

"I'm not convinced that you are." Daisy reached to undo Ruth's robe, "And I cannot believe you are happy wearing that robe. You must be terribly hot, so..."

"No!" Ruth suddenly exclaimed, and jerked away from Daisy, paws going straight to the robe to insure it stayed wrapped around her. Now a few paces away from Sister Daisy, she looked back at the fellow mousemaiden with an almost panicked look, breathing heavily.

Daisy looked at Ruth almost bewilderedly. "Why do you want to wear that robe so much?" she asked. "I can't think of any reason you need to keep wearing it unless..." she trailed off, making a possible connection, "...unless you're trying to hide something."

They were both silent for a long moment, the two looking long and hard at each other, but not really knowing where to go next. Ruth eventually relaxed, and let her paws fall to her sides.

"I'm not hiding anything." she promised softly.

Daisy raised her eyebrows questioningly.

Ruth's ears drooped as if in shame, but she stood by what she said. "I'm not." she persisted, then sighed. "I just...feel safer wrapped up in something, I suppose. Like a babe with it's blanket. It's silly, I know, but..."

"No, no, that's perfectly okay, Ruth." Sister Daisy assured her.

"I'm not hiding anything." Ruth reiterated.

Daisy was silent for a moment, then managed a comforting grin. "I know." she said.

Ruth was notably relieved. "Thank you, Daisy." she said.

"But..." Daisy continued, choosing her own words carefully, "...what shall I tell Moroni? I do not believe he will be convinced by this...less than enlightening conversation."

Ruth made a frustration motion. "What is there left to tell?"

"Well, you made mention of having trivial things to worry about." Daisy said. "Give me an example."

"Oh, no, Daisy, don't do that." Ruth said, seeing where this was going already. "Don't tell Moroni any of that. It's...it's not anything I need him to worry about." she paused. "Not yet."

"Not yet? Then when?"

"I don't know. Either when this whole situation is over, or...or...when it's too..." she trailed off again, again looking like she was withholding information.

"When it's too late?" Daisy guessed after a moment. When Ruth did not deny it, she went on, "Too late for what, Ruth?"

"Nothing." Ruth persisted. "Nothing that Moroni needs to concern himself with."

"Why, Ruth? Why are you keeping this from your husband?"

Ruth was silent for a very long moment. Just when Daisy thought she would reveal why, Ruth again shirked the question. "Because, I know him." she said. "How he'll react. It'll...it'll only distract him. It won't help him to know. He needs to be focused on everything about the rebellion. Not me. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing bad, and Moroni would mean well if he found out but..." she shook her head. "Daisy, he can't know."

"Can't know what, Ruth?" despite everything, Daisy remained patient. "Why can't you just tell me?"

Ruth looked away. "It's...it's really not that big of a deal, Daisy, nothing that concerns you." she persisted. "Really. It's nothing. Nothing at all. It's just...personal."

That settled the matter for Sister Daisy. "All right." she said in resignation. "I suppose I can respect that much. It's not something I need to butt my head into."

Ruth managed a weak grin. "Oh, Daisy." she said, knowing that the healer didn't mean anything by the comment. "Thank you for coming to talk to me, though. It did help in a way."

Daisy nodded, and headed for the door. "I'm glad I could be of help." she said. "But remember, if you ever want to tell me..."

"I'll remember." Ruth assured her. "But I don't think I'll need to anytime soon. Just...please tell Moroni he doesn't need to worry about me."

Daisy nodded, and exited the bedroom. Within that room, Ruth was relieved that it was over. However, outside the room, Daisy was more convinced than ever that Ruth was hiding something.

And she had figured out what it was.

* * *

Moroni had been pacing anxiously downstairs while Sister Daisy and Ruth spoke. When he saw the healer climbing down the stairs, signaling the end of the meeting, he quickly hurried to the edge of the stairs.

"Well?" he asked anxiously, wringing his paws in nervousness. "Is it bad? How ill is she? Will she live?"

"What?" Sister Daisy repeated, surprised, then couldn't help but make a laugh. "No, of course she'll live, Moroni! It's nothing as bad as that." she sighed, leaning on the railing of the stairs. "She's just...upset."

"Upset?" Moroni repeated, his anxiety in no way lessened. "In what way? How can I help?"

"You can help by leaving the poor thing alone, Moroni." Daisy said, stepping down the stairs so to face the mouse captain fully. "That's all she wants."

"But _why_?" Moroni persisted. "She must have a reason!"

Daisy bit her lip. "Yes, I suppose she does." she confessed. "And I don't know if it's an adequate reason, but I really don't think either of us should be questioning it, not in the state she's in, and not with things the way they are. She'll tell you when she's ready."

"Tell me? Tell me what?" Moroni wasn't about to drop the subject.

This frustrated Daisy. "It doesn't matter, Moroni." she persisted. "The important thing is that she's fine. Perfectly fine. She's just...understandably worn down."

"Understandably?" Moroni repeated. "How can it be understandable, if you claim she's fine?"

"Because she _is _fine, she's just..." Daisy threw up her paws in frustration. "Look, she doesn't want you to know, and I think I see why!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Moroni asked, taking offense. "You think that I don't care about my wife?"

"No, of course not! In fact, that's exactly the problem! Moroni, just _listen _to me. You need to give her some space! She's going through enough as it is already, and this rebellion isn't helping. Now I've told you, when she's ready for you to know, she'll tell you! But until then, do her a favor and act like you don't know. Because if you do...I don't know what she'll do, but it _won't help_."

"And how can you be so sure of that?" Moroni demanded. "She's my wife, Sister Daisy! I have a right to know what's bothering her! Now tell me what she told you!"

"All she told me was a bunch of attempts to avoid giving the straight answer." Daisy persisted. "She didn't actually tell me anything."

"She didn't?" Moroni repeated. "What good does that do any of us?" he paused, pressing one paw to his forehead, clearly frustrated, but trying vainly to try and keep his anger under control. "We can't help her if she doesn't tell me what's going on."

"On that, I agree." Daisy said. "But...trust me. For now, just...let her be. It'll help her get through it for now, at least until things in Angola calm down and return to some semblance of normal."

"But suppose for the moment that they don't." Moroni pointed out. "What if, heaven forbid, it drags on for even longer still. Or worse still, we loose the advantage we have and fall to Methusael? What then?"

"If we fall to Methusael, then I would imagine it wouldn't matter." Daisy argued weakly. "And if this continues on for too long...she won't need to tell you."

"And what does that mean?" Moroni asked. "Daisy, you clearly know something! Don't you try and hide it from me, too! I want to know!"

"I know you do!" Daisy agreed. "And by all accounts, you have every _right _to know, but at the same time...this is Ruth's problem. I can't make her decide to tell you if she doesn't want to you to know! Not right now, not in the state she's in! You _know _what a wreak she is emotionally! She's worn thin! You push her too hard and...and...plagues and pestilence Moroni, don't even think about it! It'll only cause more harm. Now please, just take my advice and back off. You'll find out, no matter what happens, when it's time!"

"Enough of being so cryptic!" Moroni said. He paused, the slipped past Sister Daisy and started upstairs. "I'll find out myself."

"Moroni, don't you _dare _force it out of her!" Daisy said, alarmed, turning to watch him climb up the steps.

"I don't want to!" Moroni persisted, looking back at the healer, almost apologetically. "But nobody is leaving me with much choice, and no adequate explanations to show for it."

He started on up the stairs again. Daisy watched him, the mousemaiden starting to panic.

"Moroni!" she called, to seemingly deaf ears. "Moroni!"

Finally, seeing she had no other choice, she finally stated what she had figured out.

And it was enough to stop Moroni dead in his tracks.

"Moroni, she's with child!"


	61. Chapter 60

Picks up from last chapter and goes on from there. Things are finally starting to wrap up. I'm getting excited, how about you guys? well, probably not, because then you'd be out of a fanfic to read, but still, there is a certain degree of excitement about nearing the end. ;)

Chapter 60

Moroni remembered hearing a fairly tale he was told way back in his days as a little one that talked about a mythical creature that, when looked upon, had the ability to turn anybeast into stone. Moroni currently felt like he had just seen said beast, because he suddenly couldn't find himself capable of doing anything for several moments, not even breathe, at least until the need to do so grew to be too strong.

That was when the initial shock wore off and a suddenly flood of other emotions washed over him. Nearly overwhelmed by it, he cautiously turned back to look at Sister Daisy, who had hung her head and looked apologetic.

"Ruth's with young?" he repeated hesitantly, unsure if he should believe it.

Sister Daisy, however, merely nodded.

Suddenly feeling dizzy, Moroni grabbed hold of the stairs's railing to stabilize himself, then carefully lowered himself to sit on a step. He looked back down at Sister Daisy standing at the bottom of the stairs for a long moment, still not quite sure what to make with this sudden revelation.

"Are you sure?" he asked after a moment.

At this, Sister Daisy hesitated. "It's the most liable explanation." she confessed. "Like I said, Ruth didn't actually tell me anything. But think about it, Moroni. She's obviously trying to hide something. And given her behavior, this fits best."

Moroni thought about that for a moment. "So you don't know for certain?" he asked.

"Admittedly, no." Daisy acknowledged. "But...it wouldn't be hard to find out. The problem is that..."

"...Ruth's being defensive of it." Moroni finished, which was the fact that puzzled him the most. "But...why?"

"Moroni, look at her position. Her homeland is caught up in a state of civil war, and is currently at a moment where the final outcome could go either way. She's not only afraid for her life...but the life of the babe as well."

Moroni thought this through for a few moments. "She must be a few weeks along by now." he remarked suddenly.

Sister Daisy nodded in agreement. "Hence the robe." she remarked. "She's starting to show. Also, bearing a child is no easy task for a female. It's tiring, stressful, not to mention that it plays tricks with one's emotions."

"That would also account for her actions." Moroni agreed, nodding his head. He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head in a mixture of excitement and disbelief. "Ruth's with young." he repeated.

They were both silent for several long moments.

"But I'm not supposed to know about this, am I?" Moroni asked suddenly.

Sister Daisy sighed. "To Ruth, no." she confessed. "I, however, personally think you have very right to know about this, Moroni, being the father and all."

"Father." Moroni repeated distractedly, but didn't comment further.

"However, I suppose I can see from where Ruth's coming from." Daisy went on. "I think she's worried that if and when you ever found out about it, you'd spend more time...fretting...over her and the child than you would with the rebellion. Where you're really needed."

Moroni thought about this for a moment, then suddenly brightened. "Well, if that's all then..." he commented, then rose and started back upstairs again.

It took Daisy only a moment to put two with two. "Moroni..." she quickly said, hurrying to follow him, "Moroni, I don't think this is a...Moroni!"

But if Moroni was listening, he wasn't paying attention. He purposefully climbed up the stairs and strode over to Ruth's bedroom door. He rapped politely on it to announce that he was there and about to enter, but otherwise didn't wait for a response, and simply entered.

Inside, Ruth was caught off guard, and just had time enough to quickly stand up before Moroni entered, followed by Sister Daisy, but the healermouse simply stayed in the doorway to watch what would happen anxiously.

"Moroni," Ruth began, a little nervously, taking an anxious step back as her husband approached her. "You...you startled me. Is there something wrong? Why...what brings you up here?"

"I can to see for myself if it's true." Moroni remarked calmly, concern etched on his face.

"See? For yourself?" Ruth repeated, at first looked confused. Then she visibly paled. "You mean...you mean you _know_?" her eyes grew wide, then she looked at Sister Daisy, "Daisy...you told him?"

"Well..." Daisy hesitated, "...he didn't really leave me much choice."

"Please, Ruth." Moroni pleaded, stepping closer, "Just tell me if it's true."

Ruth stared at him for a moment, looking terribly crestfallen, but then nodded, and bowed her head, and finally pulled off her robe and laid it on the bed.

As Sister Daisy had predicted, she was indeed beginning to show, a small bulge located at her middle. Ruth placed a paw defensively on, and turned away from Moroni, unable to face her slightly hurt husband at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Moroni." she confessed. "But...I felt it was necessary. I mean, with the rebellion and everything, and everything at risk of turning worse, I felt you didn't need to worry about this on top of it all, and I worried that if you knew, it'd distract you, and you need you mind at it's clearest, and..."

She was cut short suddenly when Moroni suddenly grabbed her and turned her to face him. They were both silent for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Then Moroni pulled his wife in for a kiss, followed by a very heartfelt hug.

"Oh Ruth," he murmured, holding her tight, "I love you with all of my heart. But sometimes, you can be so..." he trailed off, unable to find the right word.

"Stupid?" Ruth asked, and for the first time in a long while, the hint of a true grin flittered across her face.

"I was thinking stubborn." Moroni admitted, pulling away slightly, and holding his wife before him. "But Ruth, you had nothing to fear. I know my place, and right now, I know that the rebellion is more important. And besides, if you had worries, all you had to do was just tell me. I would have understood." he grinned as he looked at his wife, running a claw soothingly through her whiskers, "And you should've known that already."

Ruth returned the grin, and this time, she pulled her husband into a kiss and a hug, looking assured that everything really would work out after all.

From the doorway, all but forgotten, Sister Daisy watched with bemusement, relieved to see things work out. "Well," she remarked to herself, "that worked out better than I expected."

* * *

Juniper was a little aggravated at the moment. And most of that aggravation was because of Methusael and his choice of tactics.

First, was the fact that Methusael was more than willing to keep resisting the rebels, even though all the odds were just about against them, save for the fact that they had a fortress in their possession. A fortress that really wasn't doing them any good. But Methusael was convinced that the next step of action was to fight for it, tooth and claw, if need be. But Juniper knew better. He knew that Methusael's cause was all but lost already. They would probably greatly cut their losses by simply surrendering, something he had already suggested to his lordship, but had been rejected.

Second, was Methusael's apparent obliviousness to the gravity of their situation. He kept making it seem less serious than it really was when he was with others, and seemed overly confident that they could still possibly win. Juniper, however, had been watching the actions of the mice lately, and saw that while they had been fairly quiet all throughout the siege, it was clear that they were planning their final move, the decisive strike that would determine who will win or lose. But Methusael either did not know this, or ignored it. Just like how he didn't seem to be aware of the fact that other members of the royal guard were beginning to voice their discontent.

Third was Methusael's sudden and new liking for blackberry wine. He had suddenly been drinking a great deal of it, going as far to scrounge around the castle looking for new bottles of it. The fox never drank so much that it rendered him totally drunk, but he never drank so little that he didn't stay sober either. Whatever the case, Methusael was allowing the drink to cloud his thinking. To what degree, Juniper was unsure of. But Juniper did know that given their very delicate situation, it could prove to be their undoing.

Fourth was Methusael's various orders for keeping them all busy, rather than just sitting around twiddling their claws. Because usually they were nothing more than that. The orders varied (thankfully, Methusael was working to ensure that they were always a little bit different), but it still irked Juniper that he was going around carrying out orders that served no purpose other than to keep him busy and out of Methusael's fur. Still, he did it anyway, as he knew that, for the moment, protesting to Methusael about the matter would only make things worse, and with Methusael being as temperamental as he was lately, it was best to be avoided.

At present, Methusael's orders was to rally all the members of the royal guard that weren't already guarding the castle perimeter to insure none of the mice attempt an attack and take stock of all the weapons Midnight Castle had to offer. So Juniper was systematically going through the whole castle and directing any and all creatures he found to the barracks so to take stock of their weapons. It was slow going, but it was something to do.

"Oi!" Juniper called to one fox standing guard at the door of a dormitory, "Report to the barracks to take stock of weapons."

The guard, however, merely stiffened, and did not move.

Annoyed, Juniper approached the creature. "Immediately, please." he requested, quieter this time, but even sterner than before.

"Sorry, sir, I cannot do that." the guard responded curtly.

Juniper growled, and rubbed at his brow. "I am in no mood for this." he muttered to the obstinate fox. "Now, please, report to the barracks as you have been requested, to help take stock of the weapons."

"I am sorry, Master Juniper, but I have my orders."

Juniper folded his arms hotly. "Whose orders?" he challenged.

"Lord Methusael's, sir."

"Hmm." Juniper was less than impressed. "Maybe I should tell you that the orders to report to the barracks for taking stock of the weapons is _also _Lord Methusael's orders. And he requested every creature not stationed around the castle's perimeter to participate."

The guard shifted uneasily.

"That would include you." Juniper continued. "So unless you want to take it up with his lordship, I recommend you do what you've been asked."

The guard hesitated. "But sir, I'm not sure you understand..."

"There are a lot of things I'm not sure I understand, but this isn't one of them." Juniper interrupted. "I know my orders, and who they affect. My duty is to make sure that they are carried out, and yours to follow them."

"His lordship asked me to not leave this post..."

"I'm sure he did, but I would not be surprised at all if he did not take into consideration his preexisting orders."

The guard again hesitated, but he seemed closer to agreeing with Juniper now than he had been before.

"But..." he still began to protest.

"No buts. You have your orders, and who gave them. You need to carry them out. Without question. That's part of being a part of the royal guard."

The guard had not considered this already, and it seemed to settle the matter. He saluted. "Yes, Master Juniper." he remarked, then turned and departed.

Juniper stayed to watch and make sure the guard truly did intend to leave, and did not try to double back, then proceeded to leave as well.

It was then that he heard the voices coming from within the room the guard had been posted at.

"This wasn't at all how the plan was supposed to go. If things had gone my way, I would've been undisputedly in charge of the whole land by now."

Juniper paused. He recognized that voice. It was Methusael's. What was Methusael doing in a guest dormitory, talking to himself?

But the next voice revealed that Methusael _wasn't _talking to himself.

"It is not our fault that your plans did not proceed as you wished." the new voice spoke, one Juniper definitely did not recognize.

"Not that we care, anyway." a third voice added, also unrecognized. "We weren't going to stay here this long, even, and certainly not long enough to see the fruits of your work, if any."

"There must be something that you two can do." Methusael said, almost in a pleading tone. "Something to turn the odds in my favor."

"Not without extra compensation." the first unfamiliar voice remarked calmly, but coldly. "Paid in full."

"No more delays this time." the second voice added. "We want _all _the money now, and not later."

Juniper could tell from Methusael's tone of voice that he had a problem with that. "I can't pay you with something I don't have." he confessed.

"If you aren't going to pay us, then I fail to see why we should even stay here." the second voice grumbled, and there was a sound of the creature standing up.

"Sais, sit." the first voice commanded, and it worked, as the creature that had stood sat back down. "Now, Methusael, you told us when we agreed to this assignment that you would pay our fee, in full, upon the mission's completion. We have completed the original mission. Even though we have stayed and done much more than originally agreed upon, we have completed the original goal. For that much, we expect to be paid. Now, do you have the money, or do you not?"

Methusael was heard making a frustrated sound. "I _did_, but then I lost control of the village to the mice." he explained. "The royal treasury is kept there, which means the mice have control over it, not me. You're welcome to try and raid it yourselves, but I'm sure the mice will have it heavily guarded by now."

"There must be _something _in this blooming castle you can pay us with." the second voice, Sais, commented grumpily.

"No, there isn't." Methusael said, and Juniper knew he was being truthful. Due to security reasons, all of the royal money was kept outside of the castle, where it would be less-obviously hidden. "I'm sorry. I can't pay you right now. Surely you can understand that and compensate."

"Unfortunately no. The contract _you _signed dictated that you pay us at the mission's completion, and you agreed to it, Methusael." the first voice remarked.

This left Juniper's head spinning. Contract? What contract?

"Well, you're going to have to." Methusael argued, rather lamely. "Because you aren't getting paid anytime soon. You're just going to have to work for free for now."

"Oh no, we're vermin mercenaries, not charitable woodlanders!" Sais objected.

This sent Juniper's mind reeling even more. Mercenaries? Under Methusael's employ? In Angola?

"I'm sorry." was the only answer Methusael could give.

There was a moment of silence, during which one of the two creatures, probably Sais, growled.

"I say we gut him now, Grim." Sais remarked, and could be heard pulling out a weapon and standing again. Another creature also stood, and stumbled in the opposite direction. It was probably Methusael, acting in self-defense.

The first voice, apparently called Grim, was hesitant for a moment. Finally, he said, "Put up your weapon, Sais. Spilling his blood won't do any of us much good, not given present circumstances." He fell silent while Sais could be heard reluctantly obeying. "But be warned, Methusael. You had better discover a way to pay us soon, your I will do much worse than merely gut you."

Methusael was heard cursing, then he made a comment that caught Juniper totally off guard. "I knew I should have had Kani slain when I had the chance!"

Stunned, Juniper jerked away from the door he had been unknowingly eavesdropping through, and backpedaled away from it and the creatures in the room beyond it. Breathing starting to elevate, and breaking out into a cold sweat, Juniper hesitated for a moment, scarcely believing his ears, then turned and fled in the first direction that would take him as far from that room as he could go.

As he ran, despite trying push the whole matter out of his mind, the clues to the puzzle the overheard conversation allowed for everything to click together. Juniper suddenly realized how it had all happened, what had led up to this moment, and what the awful truth implied.

That Methusael was a traitor.

* * *

"This had better be important Hyrum." Moroni grumbled as he followed his fellow mouse out to the edge of the village, trudging along begrudgingly. Bluejay, Adah, and Mordecai were getting close to coming up with a plan to end this all. I should be there to hear it." he paused, thinking about what he had learned about his wife today, and grinned. "The sooner we can end all of this, the better."

"I understand that, Moroni." Hyrum stated with a nod. "But I really felt you should see these two. They were asking for you by name, after all. It shouldn't take long."

Moroni sighed, but nodded. "All right, I'll see the two."

They eventually arrived just before where the flat plain the village sat in ended and the surrounding woods began. There, sitting on the ground, tied back to back, and their muzzles bound with leather straps, but looking unworried, where two otters, one male, the other female, and both easily the same age as each other. They were guarded by two mouse guards, but the guards seemed more precautionary than necessary, and the two were extremely relaxed. As Moroni and Hyrum approached, the two otters locked their eyes on Moroni hopefully, both grinning broadly despite the bindings.

Moroni surveyed the situation, and frowned. He leaned closer to Hyrum. "Did you really need to tie them up?" he murmured in his friend's ear.

"Probably not, but they just wandered into our borders, as pretty as you please, and were quite determined to enter the village." Hyrum explained. "I probably would've let them, too, if they would've just told me why they're here. But they refused, said they'd only talk to you, asking for you by name, like I had said. And since otters tend to be slippery beasts, tying 'em up was done only to ensure they didn't go anywhere while I went to get you."

"And the muzzles?" Moroni inquired, then grew worried. "They weren't trying to call for help, where they?"

"Oh no, they just kept on jabbering and wouldn't shut up, the pair of them." Hyrum explained. "Finally put an end to it when they started a singing contest to pass the time. The two couldn't carry a tune to save their lives with."

Moroni couldn't help but grin. "Well, I'm here now." he said stepping forward and kneeling down before the male, and working to undo the straps silencing him, "Let's get these off of them so they can explain who they are and what they're doing here."

"Blah, much obliged, sir!" the male commented the moment Moroni got the straps off his muzzle. "Cap'n Moroni, I presume?"

"That's me." Moroni confirmed with a nod. "Who are you?"

"Me name's Tobias, cap'n." the otter remarked brightly. "Pleasure t' meet ye." he jerked his head at the female, just as Hyrum pulled off the bounds on her muzzle, "That's me twin sister, Illia."

"'ello mate." the female remarked brightly. "I'd shake yore paw if they were free, but they ain't at th' moment, so..." she shrugged.

"Well, we'll fix that in moment, once you tell me why you're both here." Moroni promised.

"Oh, well, that's easy, we're scouts." Tobias explained. "Twas sent on ahead t' see wot th' situation 'ere was like." he paused, thinking for a moment. "Though, I suppose that by now, th' others will 'ave just 'bout caught up with us, or will soon."

"The others?" Moroni asked. "Who are they?"

Illia, however, interjected with a comment. "They won't just waltz in 'ere, though, will they?" she asked. "Surely not without our report?"

"I ain't called Shirley." Tobias quipped to his twin sister with a grin.

Illia furrowed her brow in disapproval, but couldn't help but grin herself. "Just couldn't resist that 'un, eh?"

"Aw, ye're just jealous ye didn't get t' do it. But t' answer yore question, I honestly dunno wot th' others will do. They might assume th' worse and just come bargin' expectin' t' fight."

"A fight?" Moroni repeated, alarmed. "Hold on, back up a moment..."

But the two otters were no longer paying any attention to him.

"I dunno if they'd really want t' fight though, that sort of defeats th' purpose o' why we came." Illia commented. "We want t' try an' solve th' issue by spillin' as liddle blood as possible. Mebbe they'll 'old off an' investigate further first, afore they do anythin' rash."

"Mebbe, but they also just got 'ere from a long journey. Mebbe they'll want t' rest first."

"Sink me rudder, Tobias, it ain't that long a journey. Southsward is farther an' harder t' get t' than this place."

"Aye, but we'd normally take a boat, cut the journey in 'alf, an' anyway, just because it ain't such a long journey for ye an' me, doesn't mean it ain't like that for everybody else. 'specially that Gemini lot. Melody said it 'erself, they never been up this far east before."

"What?" Moroni commented, trying to follow the conversation and butt in. "Who's Melody? I...er...argh!" he pressed a paw to his brow, frustrated.

"Now you know why I gagged them." Hyrum commented with a dry grin.

"All right, both of you, BE QUIET!" Moroni commanded suddenly.

The two otters, who had been in the middle of arguing how hard a journey it really had been to get here, and fell silent, looking at Moroni. Moroni waited long enough to ensure that he had their attention and that they both wouldn't start talking suddenly again, then started speaking again.

"Now, I have some questions for you two." he began. "Now, let's start off with an easy one. How do you know who I am?"

"Oh, well, that's easy mate, we were told t' ask for ye if we met up with any mice, an' only talk t' ye." Tobias explained.

"You were told." Moroni repeated. "By who?"

"That would be me, captain."

Caught off guard by the sudden new voice speaking, the mice all jumped and looked up into the woods, the two guards, who were armed, going on the defensive. But when they saw who it was, they all stopped dead in their tracks, surprised, but also pleased.

"Your lordship!" Moroni exclaimed, clearly relieved, and quickly dropped into a respectful bow.

The other mice followed his example. Tobias and Illia looked at the mice for a moment, surprised at their behavior, then at each other, before finally twisting their heads around to look at the newcomer standing at the fringe of the woods, greatly amused by the sight before him, but trying hard not to laugh.

Tobias didn't help. "Nice timin', there, Kani." he commented. "Suppose ye brought company, too. Great. Mebbe, if these gennelbeasts would be kind enough t' untie us, we can 'ave a liddle get t'gether t' celebrate. With cake. I like cake."


	62. Chapter 61

I imagine it's pretty obvious where this is going to end up by now, and this chapter will only make it seem more obvious. :) Growing ever closer to the end, I anticipate the fanfic's conclusion long before we reach chpt. 70.

Chapter 61

The sun was beginning to set over Angola, not yet reaching the western horizon, but nearing it ever more closely. Juniper watched it through the large window of Methusael's study, trying to be patient while Methusael discussed their situation, remarking how he planned to have it all end very soon, and to emerge from it all victorious. However, Juniper suspected it was mere prep talk, and wondered if Methusael even really believed that. At least he wasn't drinking wine at the moment; the bottle of blackberry wine sat on the desk, and had been untouched by Methusael during the whole conversation. A filled glass sat beside it, but Methusael had set it down when Juniper had entered, and hadn't picked it back up again. Not that it really mattered. Methusael had been drinking enough of it lately that there was probably still some of the alcoholic drink somewhere in his system.

But Juniper wasn't really thinking too much about that. Nor was he thinking that much about what Methusael was talking to him about while he patiently listened to the fox's words.

All he could think about was the fact that Methusael had no right to this study, and that it should really be Lord Kani that was in this room.

Juniper had not forgotten the conversation he had overheard with Methusael's hidden mercenaries, but wasn't sure what he could do about it. It seemed he only had the two, but Juniper couldn't know that for certain. For all he knew, there could be dozens more of the vermin hidden away somewhere, likely outside somewhere, that could come crashing down on Juniper if he tried anything to insure that Methusael got his comeuppance. And anyway, Juniper wasn't entirely sure what would happen if he did, and succeeded. By all rights, Kani should at the very least be returned to his throne, but Juniper didn't know where the fox was at.

He knew that Methusael knew, or at least had a few ideas. He had never really discussed the matter of Kani at all with Juniper, but Juniper knew that it was a popular topic with Lady Adah. He hadn't thought much about it then, but now he had a pretty good idea why Adah acted the way she did, and had recently switched sides. Juniper was all for doing that himself, and for taking as many creatures he could with him, leaving Methusael shored up by himself in a castle he couldn't defend forever either way.

The problem was that he had no proof. All he had as evidence was a mere conversation that he had overheard, and not only was the nature of the conversation pretty shaky evidence to begin with, he had no way of prove that he wasn't just making it all up, to try and get at Methusael. Which was certainly more than logical, as Methusael hadn't been doing too good a job at winning any popularity contests lately. Most of the royal guard was quickly becoming dislike him and his choice of tactics.

But dislike of his tactics was one thing, while accusing him for high treason, attempted murder, and conspiracy was quite another. Most of the creatures in Midnight Castle didn't like him, certainly, but they still acknowledged and respected him as the lord of the land and their leader. None would dare plot against him, much less even accuse him of anything. Not without more proof.

So Juniper was looking for it. He knew that there were vermin mercenaries, at least two, that were being hidden within the castle, so he tried to arrange someway for them to be discovered. But that quickly proved to be a dead end. Either Methusael was playing it safe, or he had caught onto to the fact that someone suspected him, but the mercenaries had been moved. The dormitory they had been was now both empty and unguarded. Even the likely smell of vermin the mercenaries probably would've left was gone. Juniper had no leads as to where they might be now, or if they were even still in the castle (it seemed likely, though, as the vermin were likely to be just as bottled up in Midnight Castle as the rest of them. They would have to be magic to escape it undetected by both parties).

He didn't let this deter him, however. He also knew from the conversation he overheard that Methusael had signed a contract with the mercenaries for their services, and Juniper couldn't see any reason why he would dispose of it now, so it had to be somewhere. Find it and convince everyone that it was truly real, and Juniper would have more than enough evidence to convict Methusael, and maybe even end this whole conflict with the mice without another arrow being shot. In fact, he suspected the mice knew more about Methusael's betrayal than he even did, but seeing that no one would likely listen to them, they took matters into their own paws and rebelled.

Juniper actually felt a little sorry that it had to come to that, in fact. He hadn't realized that the mice had lost so much trust and influence in Angola that they had to resort to fighting and even bloodshed to actually _save _Angola from a danger no other creatures seemed to even be aware of. He did have to admire them, though. Here they had been put through a great deal of stress and troubles, even blamed for murders Juniper was quickly beginning to suspect they had no part in, and yet they were still working to _protect _Angola from danger, like they had always done.

If anything, it made the mice the good creatures, and not the royal guard.

Juniper hoped to fix that, however, and help find someway to make it up to the mice.

So while Methusael stood across the room, studying something on his face in a mirror and was babbling on about how he planned to find someway to strike at the mice and end it all, Juniper scanned the fox's desk for any sign of the alleged contract Methusael had signed. There were several parchments scattered all over the desk, even some that had been left over from before Kani left, it had to be there somewhere among them. So as discreetly as he could, he started sifting through the documents while Methusael was looking away, thankfully positioned in such away that he couldn't see Juniper, even when looking in the mirror's reflection.

After a few moments of searching, Juniper still wasn't coming up with anything that looked like a contract, and was starting to think that maybe Methusael had hidden it somewhere, when something caught his eye outside, through the large window that sat behind the desk. Looking up, he studied it...

...and realized this might be even better than finding the contract.

"Um...your lordship?" Juniper said aloud, waving one paw in the general direction of Methusael while keeping his eyes locked on what was happening in the village outside.

"...we know that Captain Moroni is leading the rebels." Methusael was saying, without listening to Juniper or even looking at him, and was in fact ignoring the fellow fox, "And they all seem to look up to him. So, I think, that maybe if we can find someway to draw Moroni, and only Moroni, on out into the open..."

"Uh, your _lordship_," Juniper repeated, a little louder this time.

"...then put a sniper up in one of the high towers, and have him shoot Moroni from afar, then we can take him out of the picture, and then the mice will be like a headless snake, completely unable to keep working effectively, and eventually become disorganized enough for us to come in and make the..."

"Your lordship!"

"_What_, Juniper? Do you have a problem with that idea?"

"Uh, no, your lordship, but uh..."

"Then please be quiet and let me speak."

"But...your lordship..."

"Anyway, where was I?"

"Your lordship, look out..."

"Juniper, would you please be quiet? I'm trying to think here."

"Yes, your lordship, just...look out the window please."

"Why?" Methusael finally turned to look in Juniper's direction. "What's out the window?"

Juniper looked back at him with a slightly stunned expression. "You're going to want to see this, your lordship."

Frowning, but clearly intrigued, Methusael stepped over to the window, and followed Juniper's gaze. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the streets of the village filled with mice gathering around the main road that led into the land. His surprise grew further still, when he saw who was now entering the village, apparently to the joy of the mice.

"Who are they?" Methusael finally managed to state after a moment of stunned silence. "Do we know that lot?"

"I cannot tell, milord." Juniper replied, straining his eyes to look at the newcomers. "Not very many of them appear to be Angolians. And look, some of them are wearing funny copper-colored uniforms..."

"They're the enemy, they have to be." Methusael quickly deduced, his claws fidgeting as he thought about this new development. "They're here to help the mice. Somehow they have come to their aide!"

They were both silent for a few moments, studying the newcomers stream into the village, both surprised and shocked at this new development. Then, Juniper saw something that made his heartbeat quicken in excitement.

"There's a fox leading them." he said to Methusael, pointing through the glass with one claw.

Methusael quickly moved to look, narrowing his eyes to see. As the distance was quite far, it was hard to pick out the individual creatures in the group, but the color of this creature's fur and the fact that he was marching just ahead of the group helped. It was much too far to tell accurately what the identity of the creature was with one's eyes, but Methusael didn't need to. So while Juniper's heart and soul soared at this new development, knowing that this could solve all the problems that had been plaguing his mind, Methusael's heart and soul sake, and grew angry, his eyes narrowing in response.

"Kani." he growled. "He has decided to return after all..."

* * *

Kani had indeed returned to Angola at long last, and the reaction was spectacular.

Anticipating this, Captain Moroni had hoped to sneak Kani and the forces he had brought with him into the village discreetly, so to be a surprise, mostly for Methusael, but somehow word of their arrival got out anyway, and the inhabitants of the Angolian village quickly started gathering to see if it was true. Kani also reasoned that there was enough of them that it probably would've been hard to sneak them into the village anyway.

So the once weak attempt to sneak them into the village quickly turned into a march of victory, a parade of sorts, and an impromptu celebration for all. It was clear what this implied. The end of Methusael's reign, and the return of peace to the land of Angola. And it heartened the mice to no end to see what was before them now.

Kani had returned. And he had brought help.

It was obvious what the mice felt about this sudden development, but the feelings were more mixed with the mixed numbers of Redwallers and the accompanying Quorum of Warriors being led by Melody. For instance, the Quorum of Warriors had never been this far east before, and were thus unfamiliar with both the land and the populace, and being surrounded by the cheering mice that were suddenly popping up everywhere to cheer on their arrival was unfamiliar to them, and little overwhelming. So they merely silently and timidly accepted it as they worked on through the crowds.

The Redwallers, however, were a little more welcoming of the cheering, and knowing the basics of what had been going on here from Kani, they understood the attitudes of the mice, and welcomed the support. But it was a little shocking for them, as well, for they all they knew about Angola was what Kani, Mathoni, and Skipper Rowe had told them about the place, and of the three, Kani knew it the best. It was bigger than they were expecting, more well organized than they were expecting, and it's populace much bigger than they were expecting.

As for Kani, he had mixed feelings himself. He was glad to be home finally, but something seemed...off. He couldn't place his claw on it yet. He was home, but it felt like something had changed while he was gone. That there was something here that he wasn't familiar with. His time with the Redwallers had affected him as well. He had gotten used to living their way, and disused to his past life as the heir to a throne. To see the mice standing all around him now, hailing him as their lord seemed shocking now, and Kani felt even less worthy of that respect than before.

Then there was Midnight Castle, standing on it's rocky ledge in the distance. Kani looked at it, and thought for the first time it's present there was painfully obvious. It now seemed to him to look bigger, darker, and more looming over the rest of Angola than he had ever thought it had before. He realized for the first time that from Midnight Castle, you could overlook Angola in it's entirety, and miss not a detail. Little could be kept secret from the inhabitants there. For the first time, Kani saw just how much power the royal family had held over the mice, and how little power the mice had in return. So if something bad were to happen to the royal family, and that power was corrupted...

He realized that it had been only a matter of time before a creature such as Methusael came along and tried something like this.

But first things first. Setting things straight at Angola again.

Moroni had briefly run him through the situation currently happening here at Angola, and very quickly summarized what Kani had missed. Things were actually going better than he had expected. In fact, it sounded as if Angola almost didn't _need _his help anymore. Moroni had managed just fine on his own, and in the end, got Methusael essentially in hiding. He was going to have to remember to give Moroni some kind of reward or acknowledgment for that. But first they were going to have to take Methusael out of the picture.

Which Kani planned fully on being there to participate in. For his dead family. And to get revenge. It was really all he had left to deal with now.

Interestingly enough, Mathoni's own chain of thoughts was thinking about a similar subject. He knew why Kani was here. He knew what the fox hoped to do, and that whatever it was, it was likely would be in revenge, and rightly so. But what puzzled the otter was several things. First and foremost, he wondered what Kani would do _after _all of that, once Methusael was taken care of. He supposed that the obvious thing for the fox to do was resume his role as the lord of the land.

But that was the other thing that was bothering Mathoni. He no longer viewed Kani as ruler, and hadn't since he and the fox had both left Angola all that time ago. He viewed Kani now as more of a friend, and an equal. The idea of Kani being of royal blood, and a creature that was hailed as being more or less better than the subjects he ruled over Mathoni suddenly found oddly...disturbing. Watching the mice hail Kani as their lord now only added to it. Even odder to the otter was that Mathoni wasn't sure when he first started thinking like this. He knew that when he first met Kani, he hadn't thought any of this. He realized Kani was the leader, and didn't question that.

But things had changed since then. He and Kani had literally been through life and death now. They had fought bad creatures, and freed many more already. They had had a great adventure together. As friends. He knew Kani much better now than he had before, as Kani now knew him better. And furthermore, Kani had been selected as _their _warrior of Redwall. Granted, Kani had been very hesitant about taking up the role, as were the Redwallers hesitant to accept this choice, but now Mathoni could see Kani as nothing less. He had proved himself worthy of the role. He was a leader, but not the kind of leader to rule over Angola. The kind of leader that would help them defend their homes, more like. And, as evidence by the fact that it still hung tightly beside Kani's hip, the fox still wore the fabled sword and it's scabbard.

But Angola was his home. Not Redwall. He had friends here. He _belonged _here. He had a duty here. Everything that Kani had left in the world was here, not at Redwall. To expect Kani to just forget it all and leave for Redwall because Mathoni thought he ought to was...unfair. Mathoni had no right to think about this at all. And he knew it. Kani already had his own life. His own destiny. And it just didn't include Redwall.

And the vixen that suddenly threw herself at the unsuspecting Kani and grabbed him into a heartfelt hug proved it.

"Kani!" Adah exclaimed joyfully, close to tears of joy, and without a second thought, kissed the surprised fox fully on the lips, to the amusement of some of the onlookers.

"Adah!" Kani managed to choke out once Adah pulled away, surprised. He managed a grin. "Good to see you too!"

And this time, he returned the kiss, going even more passionately with it than Adah had. It was a long moment before they pulled apart again, but even then, Adah wouldn't let him out of the embrace she was tightly holding him in.

"Kani, I'm so glad to have you back, I was starting to fear the worse." Adah explained, finally tearing up fully now, but it was for reasons beyond happiness. "Methusael had sent a mercenary to murder you, and..."

"I know, I took care of that, she won't be bothering anyone else anymore." Kani promised, whispering in her ear.

Adah seemed only slightly reassured. "Kani, I'm sorry, for everything that has happened to you, and for what I've done, not helping at all."

"Shh, it's okay, it's not your fault." Kani assured her. "Moroni told me a little bit about what you've been through. I don't blame you for anything."

"Not for those things, no." Adah murmured to herself.

Kani heard, and pulled away to give her an odd look. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Nothing." Adah quickly said. "It doesn't matter now." she grinned, and hugged him again. "All that matters now is that you're back."

"That," Kani said, in agreement, then added, "and Methusael."

And with that, he looked up at Midnight Castle with a glare...

* * *

Methusael was coming steadily closer to a panic. He knew that if he didn't do something now, it would be all over for him. He had to act fast, and make his move quick. He didn't have much of a plan, but he didn't really care any more. He just knew what he wanted.

Located in a tower room in an entirely different portion of the tower was Sais and Grim, and it was here that Methusael headed now. The guard stationed there saluted him with his paw as he approached, but Methusael barely acknowledged it.

"At ease." he barked just before he stormed into the room, flinging the door open with a bang, then slamming it behind him again.

The two mercenaries looked up at him in surprise and interest, Grim more bemusedly.

"Yes, Methusael?" the weasel asked calmly.

"I want you to slay Kani." Methusael stated breathlessly. "Tonight. I don't care how you do it, or if anyone sees it, I just want the blooming creature dead!"

Grim looked at him for a moment, then shrugged, and resumed what he was doing before Methusael barged in. Packing his bag. "A very interesting proposal, Methusael." he remarked. "Unfortunately, I cannot help you with it."

This brought Methusael up short. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't paid us." Sais summarized bluntly, also packing his own bag. "You have no way to pay us. You've broken the contract. Therefore, we are no longer going to help you anymore."

"What?" Methusael said, shocked.

"This is your fight now, Methusael." Grim said, shouldering his bag. "We will leave on the morrow."

And with that, the conversation was done. Methusael gaped at them for a moment, then fumed silently for a moment, but knowing that he couldn't win the argument, turned and left. Once outside the room, he simply stood at the door in shock.

"Milord?" the guard questioned after a moment.

"Find Juniper and have him meet me in my study." Methusael ordered suddenly, moving again. "It's going to come down to a fight after all."

* * *

Kani listened patiently to Moroni's plans later that night, after the sun had set. Sitting in the room with him was the other Redwallers, and Melody from the Quorum of Warriors. They had spent some time after their arrival to join in the celebrations the mice clearly wanted an excuse for (as there had been little cause to celebrate for awhile now) but Kani was anxious to get this done and over with, so after awhile, the important creatures called the impromptu festivities over, and back to business, and they had all gathered to hear what plans Moroni had for attacking Methusael, and ending the whole problem.

"First off, our plans are somewhat sketchy." Moroni began as a disclaimer. "Before your arrival here, we had enough forces to equal the forces of the royal guard Methusael has under his control, enough to keep them bottled up and at bay, but there was some doubt about whether or not there was enough to defeat Methusael altogether. We believe that it is quite likely that we can get most, if not all, of the royal guard to side with us with little show of force if the opportunity was presented to them, but I wasn't about to bank on that. Besides, information presented to us by Mordecai, Bluejay, and Mistress Adah have indicated that Methusael has members of the royal guard that are loyal to only him."

"However," Moroni, laying out hand-drawn plans of Midnight Castle on a table before his audience, "now that you have all appeared, and added significantly to our numbers, we don't really need to worry about any of that anymore. In fact, we can just about charge the castle from anywhere now, and not have to worry so much about the tide turning against us. We have far too many things going our way. However, it was decided that the best place to start any attack on the castle, would be to start here." he tapped a claw on the plans. "The barracks for the royal guard."

Kani picked up the plans and studied the location, nodding in agreement. "Yes, I see." he said. "Very good idea, captain."

"Well, I don't see." Mathoni confessed, standing behind Kani's chair. "Why th' barracks?"

"First rule of any invasion Mathoni is t' make sure that ye make sure th' enemy's forces are preoccupied an' out of th' picture as much as possible." Skipper Rowe commented, understanding. "Strikin' at that enemy's barracks is a smart move in that case."

"I fail to see the significance, however." Melody commented. "The castle is under siege, and it's inhabitants know it. Most of those forces are going to be on guard throughout the castle, particularly at its perimeter, to insure that we really _don't _try to invade."

"You're right, but hitting the barracks first would still be a good move." Kani said.

"His lordship is right." Moroni said with a nod. "We estimate that easily as many as a third of the royal guard's forces will be in the barracks at any given time. Methusael has been rotating them on shifts, to prevent any number of them being out on duty for too long. To do otherwise would have resulted in a mutiny by now, the very last thing Methusael needs."

"So we strike at the barracks and capture a third of the royal guard, that only leaves two thirds left to deal with." Charles reasoned. "And with most of them quite likely being ready to surrender without a fight, that would leave Methusael virtually defenseless." he nodded, understanding. "Yes, this will work."

"It can't be that simple, though." Adah objected from where she sat beside Kani.

Kani gave her a glance. She hadn't left Kani's side since he had arrived, which Kani had mixed feelings about. He more than liked Adah, and the attention she was giving him, but she was being unusually clingy, not to mention very edgy...particularly when the subject of Methusael came up, which she had been very reluctant to talk much about. Moroni had explained to Kani in brief that she had briefly teamed up with Methusael in an act of self-preservation as well as an attempt to try and protect Kani and the rest of Angola (but mostly Kani) by influencing Methusael's decisions. Kani could only guess what that might have been required from her, and he supposed she had every right to be very timid and hesitant to discuss the subject, but he still couldn't understand why she seemed so defensive about the matter. Or so argumentative, seemingly convinced that Methusael wasn't going to go out without of some kind of long and bloody last battle. There was probably some truth to that, but Kani wondered if Adah was more frightened of what Methusael might do in response to all of this.

He was a frantic beast who had been cornered with little hope of escape.

"I think it will be that simple, Adah." Kani promised anyway, defending the plan. "However, there are a few minor problems left to deal with still." he turned to Moroni. "Like, how are we going to attack the barracks? That portion of the castle faces the mountainside, leaving little room for large parties to maneuver around. Furthermore, we're bound to attract attention, just trying to reach that area, as we will have to approach the castle from the main entrance, as that is the only practical means of getting up on the ledge the castle sits upon."

"All very good points." Moroni agreed. "I think what we'll need is a group of forces that could come forward and distract the forces at the front of the castle, long enough for the rest of us to attack the barracks."

"It can't be too big of a force, however." Tobias remarked wisely. "If it is, then they'll only pull every creature they got t' deal with th' threat at their gates."

"Leavin' any attack on th' barracks virtually pointless as there won't be anybeast there." Illia concluded.

"Agreed again." Moroni said. "But it can't be too little, or they won't give the attack enough attention. And the mice would probably just be taken for granted by now."

"It's not the mice Methusael is going to want to fight anymore, anyway." Kani remarked. "It's going to be me. He has to know I'm here again."

"Yes, but your lordship, I would prefer you help attack the barracks with the others." Moroni said.

"So you can keep an eye on my and guarantee the safety of your lord?" Kani asked, a little flatly.

Moroni did not answer.

"I suppose I and the Quorum of Warriors can create the distraction." Melody volunteered suddenly. "I am missing half of my forces anyway, as half of them are at Redwall Abbey by now, insuring the former followers arrive there safely."

"I like that idea, mate, just by being strangers an' ye're showin' up at their gates should be distraction enough." Skipper Rowe agreed.

"Just be a threat enough to keep them distracted, but don't overwhelm them to the point that they need help." Kani instructed.

"Nor let _yourselves _be overwhelmed and start getting yourselves killed." Charles added seriously.

"Once the distraction is underway, the rest of us will hurry over and attack the barracks before word of the attack has had adequate time to reach them." Moroni continued, pointing at the plans again, pointing at various locations with his claw. "Half of us will attack from the front edge of the barracks through a series of windows located here. The other half will force entry into the castle itself, and cut off the barracks only other exit, here. Once that is done, we'll spread out through the castle, overpowering what remains of the royal guard, get them to stand down with as little fight as possible. With a little luck, we'll have control of the castle in a matter of moments with little fighting."

"That just leaves Methusael." Mathoni remarked.

"He's mine." Kani growled, staring at the plans of the castle, already picking out locations Methusael would likely be at. "Once he has lost control of the royal guard, he'll be defenseless, but ready to fight. I plan to give him that fight." he looked up at the others. "Alone."

No one disputed this request.

"Then it's settled." Moroni said, collecting the plans. "We'll attack before dawn."

* * *

Methusael was anxiously pacing his study when Juniper arrived there, looking a little puzzled.

"You asked for me, your lordship?" the fox asked, wondering if he dared guess what Methusael could possibly want him for now.

"Juniper, tell me truthfully." Methusael began, without slowing his pacing any. "Do we stand any kind of chance against the mice and the new recruits Kani has brought?"

Juniper straightened, and resisted the urge to grin in relief. Was Methusael finally seeing this was a lost cause? "No chance at all, your lordship." he replied, as gravely as he could. "They'll easily overpower us."

"But not without a fight, yes?"

"No, your lordship, most of the royal guard will not be very willing to fight a battle they know they cannot win." That, and the fact that loyalty to Methusael was at an all-time low, now that word of Kani's public return has gotten around. "Are you planning to surrender, milord?"

At this, Methusael snorted. "Ha! As if."

Juniper blinked, but fought to remain calm and not get angry at Methusael's stubbornness. "May I ask why?"

"They're the enemy, Juniper. I will not surrender to the enemy."

"With all due respect, milord..." which was next to none by now, "...the mice are not the enemy. All they want is peace..."

"There will be _no _peace, not until they recognize who is truly the ruler here!" Methusael interjected, thumping himself on the chest to refer to himself.

"Then we will never have peace as long as you live, your lordship, as the mice have never acknowledged you as their ruler, and the forces Kani brought are clearly sided with them."

"But I have the royal guard and the other creatures in this castle on my side, I have _that _much." Methuseal murmured to himself, as if in deep thought.

Juniper hesitated for a moment. "No, your lordship."

Methusael suddenly froze in his pacing, and looked at Juniper in surprise.

"Most of the royal guard is losing support in your cause." Juniper went on to explain. "Most of them are favoring Lord Kani now."

Methusael was silent for a moment, looking surprised, then he glanced doubtingly at Juniper. "And how do you know this?"

Juniper didn't hesitate to respond. Enough was enough. "Because I am one of them."

Methusael's eyes narrowed, and slowly and deliberately, he stepped up to stand before Juniper, glaring at the fox. Juniper narrowed his eyes back, and stood his ground. Then, without warning, Methusael curled one paw into a fist and punched Juniper in the face as hard as he physically could, knocking the fox off his feet and to the floor.

"Guards!" Methusael roared, turning his back on Juniper and stalking back to his desk to lean heavily upon it. "Get this traitor out of my study!"

The two guards that had been stationed outside Methusael's study, apparently among the few still loyal to Methusael, entered instantly, and grabbed Juniper without question and started to haul the dazed, but angry, fox off.

"You can't win this fight, Methusael!" Juniper shouted loudly, trashing against his captors. "Kani will win, and then justice will be served for the creatures you've murdered and..."

"_Get him out of here!_" Methusael roared, unexpectedly grabbing the bottle of blackberry wine that still sat upon his desk and hurled it in Juniper's direction. All three members of the royal guard had to duck the bottle as it hit the far wall and shattered in a brilliant spray of crystal and purple drink. They then continued on, Juniper still struggling, but he had said his part.

And Methusael knew he was right, too. Angry still, but also dejected, he returned to the desk, and stared out the window behind it, looking over the Angolian village in dismay, realizing that nothing he did now could prevent the inevitable. All of his support was falling out from under him. His mercenaries, the royal guard, everyone. They were all turning their support back to Kani.

Kani...

His expression turning into a deep scowl of hatred, Methusael turned away from the window and stomped over to a cupboard that sat to one side of the study. Throwing open it's doors to reveal a sword sheathed in it's scabbard resting gently on a stand, Methusael removed the blade and attached it to his belt, wrapping a paw tightly around it's hilt in reassurance. That done, he returned to the window and stared out it, envisioning wherever Kani might be, now anticipating the fox's inevitable coming.

Because Methusael had only one thing left to do...


	63. Chapter 62

Further building to the end. I estimate about four to five chapters remaining until we reach the end, but that's not a final number. I am highly anticipating the next chapter, as it will be the fanfic's more or less last hurrah. :)

Chapter 62

It was well after midnight and heading on into very early morning about an hour or so before sunrise, and the guards stationed at Midnight Castle were rather surprised to see that it had been a very quiet night.

"It's very odd, so it is." one guard remarked to a cohort, both of them stationed on a balcony that sat just above the castle's main entrance. He looked out at the village. "I would've thought they would've tried something by now. They have all of the odds on their side now."

"Instead, the whole lot of them are just being silent now." the other guard remarked, studying the oddly silent village himself. "Maybe they got a little carried away with their celebrating, and decided to sleep in."

"Hmpf, wish we had something to celebrate about." the first guard grunted irritably.

The second guard shrugged. "Well, Lord Kani has returned, that's something." he pointed out. "and Lord Kani beats Lord Methusael any day."

"Can't argue with that." the first guard agreed. "But Methusael isn't going to just give up the throne that easily. For some reason I will never understand, he apparently sees Lord Kani as a threat to fight and ward off. His lordship would have to stage a coup in order to get the throne back under his possession."

"Where it rightly belongs, of course." the second guard agreed. "I think Methusael had it all wrong about him. Maybe Lord Kani was a source of our troubles before, but those troubles only got worse once Methusael took charge."

"The idiot can't see when he's beat, either." the first guard said. "No way in all of creation could we beat the mice now. They've practically won already."

"Aye, about that..." the second guard said, "I've been thinking...whose side do you think we should be on now? Methusael's, Lord Kani's, or neither?"

The first guard gave the matter a moment of thought. "Well, it certainly has to be one of the two." he confessed after a moment, "I can't see any reason why there should have to be a third side." he was silent for a long moment, looking uneasy about the conversation suddenly. "This is treason talk, but I don't think we should be on Methusael's side either."

The second guard grinned, relieved. "Me either." he said with a sigh, "Treason or not, Lord Kani is the better creature to side with."

"All right, now that we've got that settled, it does leave us with one little problem." the first guard remarked, looking and his companion. "What do we do when we have to fight his lordship and the mice? Because you know it's going to come to that sooner rather than later."

The second guard nodded. "Aye, I see your point. If we both agree that we should really side with Lord Kani and his forces, it doesn't make sense when we have to fight them to actually fight them. But what else are we going to do? Just not fight them?"

"Maybe what we need to be doing is do more than just talk of switching side, but actually _do it_." the first guard reasoned, "I mean, get out of this castle, and into the village."

The second guard blinked in surprise. "You mean become rebels?" he asked.

"Aye," the first guard said, his bushy fox tail beginning to swish back and forth in mild excitement. "And maybe, if we make the first move, the others will start to follow. I mean, they can't be anymore happy with Methusael's choice of actions than we are."

"Aye, I could see that." the second guard. "And maybe, if enough start deserting, we would be robbing Methusael of what little defensive power he has less, and would be totally defenseless." his eyes widened in gleeful surprise at this thought, starting to get excited himself, "He'd be forced to surrender without anyone every having to stage another battle! Not another drop of blood would be spilt!"

"Shh!" he companion quickly urged when the guard's voice started to rise too high, but he, too, was grinning at the very desirable thought, "That's how I'm thinking it will work, too. We just have to make our move, and hope others follow."

"Okay," the second guard said, with the nod of his head, then looked around for a moment, "Just how are we going to do that?"

The first guard hesitated for a moment. "Well...um..." he stuttered, unsure how to answer.

"Unfamiliar creatures approaching the gates!" a voice suddenly shouted out from below them.

The two guards turned to look, and sure enough, a party of mixed creature wearing copper-colored armor were steadily approaching the main entrance of the castle, armed and at the ready, but their weapons were not raised. They did not bother with stealth either, and simply, fearlessly, marched towards the castle, heading up the well-worn path up onto the plateau it sat upon. In front of the castle's gates, the guards stationed there prepared themselves for a fight, but did not raise their weapons either. They wouldn't until they were either given the order to, or they were fired upon first. On the balcony above these creatures, the two guards exchanged glances.

"I guess we're going to find out." the first guard remarked to the second.

* * *

The Quorum of Warriors arrived in en masse at the gates of Midnight Castle and spread out, taking up defensive positions to surround the gates. Their numbers only totaled to a few score, but it was enough to put the guards stationed at said gates on alert. The guards stationed along the front of the castle all quickly grouped together in front of the gates, ready to defend them. The two guards positioned on the balcony also took up defensive positions. Weapons were raised, ready to fight.

But no fighting began.

Melody and her forces had been given specific orders that they were not to attack until they were attacked upon first. But among the members of the royal guard stationed at the gates, the order was not given to attack. And as they would not disobey that order until they were attacked first as well, they did not move to attack either. So both sides ended up just silently staring at each other, waiting for the other to make their move, not attacking. It was like the world's biggest staring contest.

Running alongside the castle, against the side of the mountain, was a row of leafy green trees, evenly spaced apart, that had been planted for mere decoration purposes. Because of the fairly rocky and infertile soil that existed this close to the mountainside, their growth had been stunted somewhat, but they stood tall and healthy enough that they fulfilled their purpose. In daylight, they wouldn't have begun to provide shelter enough for anybeast to slip past behind them undetected. In fact, they barely provided enough cover during the nighttime. But as the royal guard stationed at the front of the castle was currently focusing all of it's attention on the trespassing Quorum of Warriors, it was more than opportune time for a party of creatures to slip past behind these trees, completely unnoticed it seemed.

So Kani, the Redwallers, and Captain Moroni and his party all quickly made use of the opportunity, staring with interest at the proceedings at the castle's front gates. Or rather, the lack thereof.

"Quietest distraction I ever did see." Skipper Rowe remarked whimsically, chuckling at the sight.

"This plan might just work out better than any of us expected." Moroni remarked from behind the bigger otter, also amused at the sight and the ease of their intrusion.

"Good, I daresay there's been enough bloodshed over this matter." Mathoni remarked from beside Kani, who was leading. He a little less enthused about the matter, knowing there was still a chance for all of this to end badly.

Kani felt the same way, a look of determination on his face and he silently led the party to the side of the castle that faced the mountainside, completely unguarded as no one thought any attacks could possibly come from this side. He knew that the matter wasn't over yet, and anyway, he completely planned on at least one certain creature to not survive this incident.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the wing of the castle that housed the barracks, a simple structure only about two stories tall, and housed mostly simple dormitories for the individual members of the royal guard. Moving even more stealthily now, Captain Moroni signaled to his mice, and two parties broke apart and approached the castle from either side of the barracks, where tall windows led into the corridor that ran past it's entrance. Forcing the windows open, the two parties discreetly entered the castle and cut off the barracks the only exit. Sentries were posted at this exit, but they were located on the inside, and as the doors leading into the barracks were currently closed for the night, they remained unaware that enemy beasts had the exit surrounded on the outside.

This done, the rest of the group gathered at the end of the barracks, where three windows sat on the bottom floor. On the other side of these windows was a small dining room reserved for the royal guard's use. Connecting to the side of the room opposite from the windows was a hallway that stretched down the entire remaining length of the wing, lined with dormitories on either side, broken only by two staircases located on either side of the hallway's middle that led up to the second floor.

The dining room was empty, and void of anybeast, but two sentries were posted at the room's entrance. So they couldn't help but see when the invading party outside started working at forcing open the locks to the windows from outside. As they were only armed with spears, though, there wasn't much they could do but stand ready for a fight once the intruders got inside. Further down the hall, where the sentries posted at the barracks entrance, they too were alerted, but they stayed at their post to guard the door, with the idea of working to prohibit any intruder to get past those doors, unaware that there were already intruders on the other side.

They all stayed silent until the first windows were opened, and the mice and Redwallers started pouring into the dining room, armed, and heading straight for the entrance into the room, then both of the sentries posted at that entrance raised their voices to send out the alarm.

"Intruders!" they both called out. "Intruders in the castle!"

The reaction was almost instantaneous. Immediately, doors all along the hallway burst open, and members of the royal guard who had been presumably off-duty and were sleeping and/or passing their time came rushing out into the hallway. One look at the creatures filing into the dining room, pointing their weapons at the sentries and having enough numbers to easily overpower them sent a ripple alarm through the alerted foxes.

One, apparently having some authority over the others, quickly took charge of the situation.

"Someone run and get help!" he ordered, grabbing a spear from his room and hurrying forward to help the sentries attack if need be.

A nearby fox, wearing naught but a pair of trousers, was the one who turned and ran for the barracks exit, the sentries stationed there, moving to open the doors for him, only to find that the party of intruders who had been waiting out there were present and armed. This party quickly pushed into the barracks, driving back the would-be messenger and the two sentries, threatening with their weapons, but otherwise doing little to attack. The same was happening up at the dining room. The intruders, a mix of mice and Redwallers, were threatening the royal guard members that approached with their weapons to keep them at bay, but doing little to actually attack.

"Break into two parties and head upstairs and capture the second floor!" Moroni called to the intruders infiltrating the hallway from the other direction.

"Stop them, stand in their way, and don't let them through!" the fox who had taken charge quickly ordered back in response.

"Stand down, and this can all end peacefully." Moroni pressed, addressing this creature.

"Stand you ground, everyone!" the fox called to those responding under his commands. "Give me one good reason why any of us should stand down!"

"Samuel, stand down, that is an order!" Kani exclaimed as he clambered through one of the dining room windows, the last to enter (at Moroni's insistence).

The fox, apparently called Samuel, looked in surprise at Kani. "Lord Kani!" he exclaimed, then grinned.

Then, no only did he and the other members of the royal guard stand down, they also went the extra measure and bowed down in respect before their lord, mildly stunning the intruders at this sudden change of attitude.

Tobias laughed, and clapped Kani on the back. "Looks like yore reputation is preceedin' ye, mate!" he exclaimed.

Kani managed a grin, but slightly puzzled, he approached Samuel's bowing form.

"Head upstairs and have the beasts up there stand down as well!" Moroni commanded again to his troops.

"Have members of the royal guard head up as well and confirm the order!" Samuel added, righting himself suddenly as he gave the order to his own troops.

He then noticed Kani approached, and turned to face him. "We are at your disposal, your lordship." he announced quickly.

Kani merely shook his head, and grinned for a moment. "Not that I'm not happy for this, Samuel, but why?" he asked.

"Because of several things, your lordship. One, you outnumber us. Two, our defeat was inevitable either way. Three, it is clear that you wish to harm no one, and finally, many of us would prefer to answer to you than Methusael now."

Kani merely laughed, and wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"What are your orders, your lordship?" Samuel prompted happily, grinning himself.

Kani nodded, turning serious again. "We need to have the rest of the royal guard stand down as well, you can help have them do that. If they see fellow creatures standing down, then they will likely follow."

"It will be done, your lordship."

"Also, I wish to speak with the creature who should be currently in command of the royal guard, June...Jube..." Kani started snapping his claws as he sought to remember the name.

"Juniper, sire?"

"Yes, Juniper, where is he?"

"I do not know, no one has seen Juniper all evening, milord."

"All right, we'll need to find him, then. And somebeast will need to let the Quorum of Warriors into the castle to assist, as well was Amulek and Adah and their forces who are standing by at the end of the path outside."

"Yes, your lordship."

Kani turned to Moroni. "Captain, you continue here." he said, then turned to leave, "Give out commands as you see it fit."

"Yes, your lordship." Moroni replied, as all the creatures in the barracks began bustling about to carry out these orders. "Do I dare ask where you are going?"

Kani gave him a glance. "You really have to ask?" he replied, then continued for the barracks exit.

"Kani," Mathoni called, hurrying to catch up with his friend, "What can I do to help?"

"You can hand me that shield for one thing," Kani replied, drawing the Sword of Martin. "I'm probably going to need it."

Mathoni handed him the shield that was lying in one of the dormitories without hesitation. "What else?" he asked, anxious to help Kani, already having an idea what the fox planned to do.

Kani wouldn't go for it, though. "You stay here and help Moroni and the others tell the royal guard to stand down." he told the otter, ruffling the younger beast between the ears with one paw quickly before proceeding on. "I need to do this alone."

"Do what?"

"One last thing to end all of this."

* * *

Methusael was busy pacing in his study, not even bothering to sleep, awaiting for the report he would knew would eventually come, when that report finally did come.

"Milord," a fox loyal only to him reported as he hurried into the study, "Unfamiliar creatures have arrived at the front gates, and are threatening attack. They haven't yet, but they could begin at any moment."

Methusael nodded to himself, unalarmed. "And so it begins." he remarked, turning to face the fox. "Have you sent for support at the barracks?"

"Yes milord, I sent a messenger to call for added support, but he has not returned, and no support has come."

"They're already in the castle then." Methusael immediately deduced. "The last battle for this castle, and the land of Angola, has begun."

"Yes milord." the fox replied with a nod.

"Forget the creatures and the gates, and the barracks. I want you to find every creature in this castle, and have them rally here outside the study. I want you to defend that corridor with your very lives. Nobeast is to get through your blockade unless I say so, understood?"

"Yes milord."

"And if you meet anybeast who refuses to come, or is not one of our own, or, heaven forbid, Lord Kani himself, kill them where they stand."

* * *

"Something's happening out there." Sais remarked, one ear pressed against the door. "Dunno what, though."

"It should not be very hard to guess, Sais." his weasel companion remarked from across the room, shouldering his bag. "Whatever the case, it is no longer our concern. We have overextended our stay anyway." he turned to look at the ferret. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Been ready for several minutes now." Sais replied, who had been very anxious to leave. "But I thought we were going to wait until morning."

"We can no longer wait." Grim said, heading for the door. "Methusael's rule is crumbling already, and we will not want to stay here when it does. Furthermore, Methusael is no doubt going to try everything in his power to keep us from leaving. Therefore, whatever creature stands in our way, regardless of who it is, subdue them as quickly as possible."

"Gotcha." Sais said, arming himself, and stepping away from the door so Grim could open it.

But before Grim did, he suddenly stopped, and pressed his own ear against the door, hearing somebeast coming their way. Listening to the pawsteps, he identified the creatures as mice, who were armed, and judging from the shuffling around they were making, they were checking out every dormitory in the hallway, one by one. Their shuffling overlapped too much for Grim to get a clear count of their numbers, but there was easily more than five. They were at the far end of the hallway still, but they were steadily coming closer to them.

Grim inwardly debated his options for a moment, then released the latch to the door, and stepped away from it, deciding it was better to play it safe.

"Creatures are approaching, it would be ideal if we could find another way out of here." he told Sais, who nodded and hurried to the window and threw it open. Grim looked around, calculating. "However, seeing we are in a tower room, this could prove to be problematic.

"Nah, not a problem at all." Sais said, heading back over to the two beds in the room, and began stripping the bedsheets off of them.

Grim watched him for a moment, eyes narrowed as he wondered what the younger ferret was up to. "What are you doing?"

"Tying the bed sheets together." Sais replied simply, taking two ends o f the sheets he had stripped and tying them together with a knot. Upon seeing Grim's genuinely questioning look, he added, "What, didn't you ever try to sneak out of your parents's hut without them knowing when you were a whelp?"

"I did not have parents or a hut when I was a youth." Grim replied matter-of-factly.

Sais frowned, and handed some bedsheets to Grim. "Just tie." he said.

Before long, tying their makeshift rope to a bedpost, they shimmied down the tied-together bedsheets out the window and down the better length of the tower. Their makeshift rope wasn't long enough to get them down the tower all the way, but it was far enough for them to jump the rest of the way. Landing on the roof of one wing of the castle below was tricky; one slip would mean a fall likely to their death, but being the highly skilled mercenaries they were, neither Grim or Sais had any trouble with that, and were quickly on their way, working out a way to escape...

* * *

Kani hurried through the castle, heading further and further up it's many floors, as he sought for the one creature he knew he had to confront. He checked every location he anticipated the creature to be at. The kitchens, the throne room, the royal bedchambers, the library, and the armory. He wasn't in any of these rooms. That just left one location for Kani to check. The royal study.

_His _study.

Hurrying onward through the surprisingly empty corridors, Kani moved as fast as his footpaws would carry him, getting more and more anxious the closer he got to his destination.

Soon, it would all be over.

Soon, his family would be avenged.

He rounded one corner, and saw a couple members of the royal guard at the other end of the hallway, about to turn a corner themselves. They turned to look at Kani as he rushed into the corridor, while Kani looked at them. They both hesitated for a moment, pondering how to react, then two royal guard archers raised their bows and fired off arrows at Kani, while another hurled their spear. Kani dodged the shots by ducking back around the corner, the two arrows clacking off the edge of the wall that made the corner, and the spear not quite coming far enough to reach him.

Once Kani was out of sight, however, the turncoat members hurried on around their own corner of the hallway, and out of sight. Realizing that they must be among the few creatures that were still loyal to Methusael, Kani hurried after them, giving chase.

The chase did not lead far before Kani rounded another corner in the hallway, footpaws skidding on the smooth stone floor, claws scraping at it accordingly, and found himself face to face with a whole blockade of royal guard members, totaling just under fifteen, all perched on the brief flight of stairs that stood just before the entrance into the study, all armed with bows and arrows, which they notched and raised the moment Kani came into view.

And standing at the top of the stairs, behind the blockade but completely within sight, was Methusael.

"Kani." Methusael greeted with a grin, wrapping his paws tightly around the sword he carried, point down. "Took you long enough to get here."

"Still a coward like before, though, hmm?" Kani replied, unperturbed. "Why hide, Methusael? It's me you want."

"And I know that you want me dead, Kani." Methusael replied calmly, also unfazed.

"I want you to surrender." Kani corrected, though they both knew that Methusael was right too. "You can't win, Methusael. You've lost. This is just delaying the inevitable."

"This isn't about winning anymore, Kani." Methusael said. "This is about guaranteeing that I have the last say in the matter. To ensure that if I'm going down, I'm going to take you with."

Kani narrowed his eyes and snarled at Methusael. "So long as you fall in the end." he vowed.

Then, with a yell, Kani threw himself at the blockade, ready to fight.


	64. Chapter 63

And another chapter. Not long now until the end. This chapter's full of action, but its all winding down in preparation for the end.

More or less. ;)

Chapter 63

The moment Kani charged the blockade, they fired their arrows at him. However, Kani was ready for it, and had the shield he had grabbed before leaving the barracks up and before him, blocking all of the arrows. At this point, it was clear that the blockade of royal guard members had made a critical error by having fired all of their bows at once, leaving no one else prepared to fire an arrow, meaning they all had to stop and take time to reload. They quickly moved to do this, but not fast enough, for in a heartbeat, Kani was upon them.

Ramming into the ranks of the first row of blockading soldiers with his shield, still riddled with the arrows that had been fired, Kani pushed them aside, and then he was in the fray of them. Panic broke loose, and those who could get the chance to rearm their bows didn't dare fire, due to the close quarters of the opponent. Their only other option was to fight Kani in hand-to-hand combat with the only other weapons they were armed with, which were daggers, as they had been trained that would be the most ideal weapon to use in close quarters.

And it was. Yet Kani and the sword of Martin he was using seemed to be working out just as well, if not better. Scarcely using the shield for more than a battering ram to try and break through the ranks of the blockade, usually working to knock a fox or two out cold when it struck right, Kani was using the sword everywhere else, using it to disarm his foes of their daggers, to lash out at them with the sharp blade of the legendary sword, or to ram it's hilt into the jaws of his foes, working to either knock them out as well, or to at least stun them enough to deal them a more decisive blow. It wasn't Kani's intent per say to kill any of these creatures in the blockade, but he wasn't afraid to, either. In the first few moments of the scuffle, two already lay dead, with a third wounded severely enough that he was likely to follow. Kani, for the moment, had few qualms about the matter. He just wanted this over with.

From the top of the small staircase, Methusael watched to scuffle anxiously, tensed up to react if need be. For the first few minutes of the battle, it was still anyone's conflict to win. Kani, as aggressive as he was being at the moment, didn't seem to be making much headway at first, but then, neither was the blockade of creatures. A few moments later, once the blockade began to overcome the initial shock of the assault and began to get their act together again, it seemed like they were going to overwhelm Kani. But then, another minute later, the tables had turned, and Kani, just one creature with a vengeance, was rapidly overwhelming them.

The blockade quickly saw that they weren't winning this fight, and their training said that they should retreat, flee to another location, and regroup and try again. But they had nowhere to flee to, and anyway, Methusael had ordered them to stand their ground in that blockade no matter what. It didn't matter how loyal they were to Methusael to obey that order, they had to either way for their own safety, because they knew with Methusael in his mental state, that if Kani didn't kill them, Methusael likely would if they disobeyed.

It was to no avail, however. In a few more minutes, the scuffle was over. Seven of the fifteen lay dead, two more severely wounded, while there were five out cold, and one that was still conscious, but too dazed to fight back and was merely forced to one side. Leaving Kani free to mount the top of the stairs, victorious. The fox had faired the battle well. The only signs he bore that he had been in a scuffle was his disheveled orange fur, the fact he was out of breath and sweaty from the exertion of the battle, and that his clothing was lightly splattered with blood, none of it his own.

He had to be exhausted from fighting so serious a battle against such unfavorable odds, but if he was, he hid it extremely well, and face Methusael at the top of the stairs in the same manner he had before the scuffle had broken loose. Giving his sworn enemy a stern glare, Kani motioned to the fallen members of the blockade.

"You have no one left to hide behind, Methusael," he remarked, advancing forward, "you have no choice left but to fight me."

Methusael stepped back as Kani advanced upon him, but he otherwise seemed unfazed by this turn of events. "Very well," he remarked, accepting the challenge and raising his sword and assuming the proper stance, "I almost prefer it this way, anyway."

Kani paused long enough to toss the shield he had been carrying aside, then he too raised his magnificent blade and readied himself to fight. "Winner takes all?" he asked.

Methusael nodded. "Winner takes all."

There was another brief paused as the two foxes gauged their opponents. Then, both with a yell, they were suddenly upon each other and fighting to the death.

* * *

At the end of the path leading up to Midnight Castle, positioned in such a way that they could see the castle, but not be seen themselves, the rest of Angola's forces waited anxiously. Their assignment was fairly simple, and pivoted on whether or not the royal guard stood down peacefully. If they did, then they were simply to wait until they were let in from the inside, then help sort things out. If they didn't, then they were to be the backup support, to come running in ready to fight if it came to that. Thus far, neither had happened, but the long delay for a verdict many said was probably a good thing for now.

Amulek was technically the one in charge of the forces predominately composed of mice, but as Adah had insisted on being a part of the takeover (as she felt entitled to it, or so she said) and the fact that it should come to a fight, Adah's knowledge of the castle's interior would prove useful had earned her a place as second in command of the forces, there as really more of a consultant and advisor to Amulek, should he need it, but it was satisfactory enough for Adah.

Still, she watched the castle up ahead with anxious eyes, awaiting for some sign of progress. Nervously, she crouched down behind the rock she was hiding behind, and twiddled her claws. Amulek was going anxious too, but it hid it much better, as he was more used to it. Seeing the vixen's anxiety, he sought something to tell her to soothe her.

"They're bound to be inside the castle by now." he pointed out finally. "If it was going to come down to a fight, we would've heard it by now. They're probably just gotten held up letting us in."

"Yes, probably." Adah agreed, and tried to force herself to relax. "I'm just...worried. If this doesn't work out..."

"Hey, Moroni has pulled off much zanier ideas than this before and we all got out of it okay." Amulek interrupted. "No reason this shouldn't work out either. Besides," he motioned to the castle gates, "no one has fired on our little group of diversionaries yet."

Sure enough, the Quorum of Warriors still stood before the gates, ready to attack, but having not done so yet, while the guards stationed at the castle did likewise. They simply stared at each other, as if daring each other to make the first move. It actually only worked to worry Adah further. What if somebeast got antsy and accidently did something to attack without thinking? That would spark an unwanted battle, and who knew what kind of damage would be done before it was brought back under control. She didn't want to see any more creatures die.

She had seen enough die already.

Amulek seemed to be thinking the same thing. "I do wonder if they can keep this up for much longer." he murmured aloud. "It must be unnerving to be practically staring each other down for so long."

Adah groaned in frustration at this. Amulek, seeing that he wasn't helping, quickly shut his mouth.

They were wondering just how much longer this was going to go on, when movement could be seen on the balcony that overhang the castle's front gates. More creatures had arrived, but who they were, and what they were doing couldn't be determined from this distance. Fortunately, they didn't need to figure it out, as faint shouting was heard amongst the ranks of the royal guard, and then they must have stood down, for the Quorum of Warriors visibly relaxed as well. A few moments later, the front gates themselves opened to permit the quorum access to the castle. Amulek and Adah brightened their expressions visibly when they saw this.

"Well, there you go!" Amulek declared, rising and starting forward, signaling to the troops to follow. "They're standing down. And not with a shot fired, it looks like!"

"Good." Adah said with a heavy sigh, hurrying to keep up with the mouse. "Maybe Methusael will also give up without a fight then."

Amulek shook his head, however, doubtful. "I don't know, Methusael has worked pretty hard to get this far. Something tells me he isn't going to just give up."

"I hope not, because that would mean someone would have to fight him." Adah remarked, looking frightened at the idea.

"Like Lord Kani." Amulek remarked, then blinked, and gave Adah a teasing smirk. "Is that it? You think your boyfriend can't handle such a fight?"

Adah blushed at the mention of her and Kani's relationship, but she did not deny it, and in fact corrected Amulek. "No, I think Kani is more than a match for Methusael."

Now Amulek's expression turned to one of puzzlement. "Then...I don't understand. What are you so worried about?"

To this, Adah gave no answer, and did not speak again until they were all safely in the castle.

* * *

The two foxes lunged at each other and swung their swords that the head of their opponent, perhaps due to some fighting instinct, or in an attempt to end this fight quickly. But they swords merely clashed together, stopping the planned blows before they could reach the flesh of the opponent. Methusael pushed Kani away from him, helped by the fact that Kani willingly broke away. They had been fighting in the hallway that ran alongside the study for long enough that they had lost track of time. Thus far, neither of them had managed to even touch their opponent. Methusael was too skilled, and Kani was both too skilled and too exhausted from his fight with the blockading royal guard. Having reached another stalemate in the battle, they backed off and started circling each other.

"Tired, Kani?" Methusael asked questioningly, seeing that Kani was panting heavily, his fur drenched with sweat. "What is your drive to keep fighting, then, I wonder?"

"Do I really need to tell you?" Kani asked darkly, still determined despite being so exhausted. He planned to keep on fighting until he either won, lost, or simply passed out from wearing himself out. "You know why I'm here."

"To stop me." Methusael replied, smirking at his opponent in mocking. "To drive me out. To take back the throne that is traditionally yours. To seek revenge."

"All of which I plan to do, Methusael."

"I didn't say you couldn't try." Methusael's grin grew bigger as an evil glint formed in his eyes. "But I highly doubt you're any more worthy to take the throne than I am. You weren't even leader enough to take the action that was _really _needed to be done to stop the Angolian rebellion. Plagues and pestilence, you weren't even leader enough to guide the mice to victory after you escaped my cunning trap to kill you. You turned and ran instead, tail probably tucked beneath your legs." he chuckled at the growl Kani was making by this point whilst baring his teeth. "Oh come off it, Kani. You know it's true. The only reason you've even gotten this far is because of another creature's work. No matter how you look at it, Kani, you always had another creature to step you through this. But not anymore. So what makes _you _so sure that you can stop me now? You couldn't stop me before, no matter how determined you were. You didn't even have enough determination to save your poor brother..."

The insults finally making Kani's anger snap, the fox let out a bloodcurdling roar, and with a snarl, lunged at Methusael. Caught off guard, Methusael backed up until he bumped into the closed door of the study, holding up his sword in self defense. Kani hacked away at the blade as hard as he could, his anger driving away the normal tactics of a sword fight and on down into mindless hacking. Seeing this, Methusael sought a way to use it against Kani, and succeed by reversing the hold on his sword and driving up against Kani's sword in such a fashion so to drive the blade to one side and pin it against the side of the door's frame.

Not to be beaten, Kani strained to try and free the pinned blade, trying to drive it in whole variety of directions, nicking the latch to the door more than once, bending it out of position slightly. Finally, fed up, Kani lashed out with one leg and kicked Methusael square in the chest, slamming the other fox against the door of the study. The lock weakened as it was, the door immediately sprang open, allowing Methusael to be thrown to the floor. Without loosing pace, and his sword now free, Kani surged into the room after Methusael, and went to run Methusael through while he was still on the floor.

Methusael anticipated the move, however, and quickly scrambled back up and onto his paws, backpedaling away from Kani, searching for an advantage to use against the angry fox. His movements were stopped when Methusael backed up into the desk of the study. Before he even had time to think about stepping around it, Kani was upon him, sword at the ready. Methusael quickly blocked to blow with his own sword, but there was little he could do to stop the punch Kani dealt him with his free paw, throwing Methusael backwards, to fall onto his back on the desk.

He quickly rolled off it as Kani swung his sword at him, the action saving him for the moment, and allowing Kani's sword to hit the desk instead, leaving a long cut in it's woodwork. Rolling off the other edge of the desk and onto the floor, knocking over the desk chair and various items on the desk in the process, Methusael straightened in time to see Kani vault over the desk and come charging at him. Methusael quickly worked to block the blows sent his way with Kani's sword, until finally their swords interlocked.

Kani used this moment to shove Methusael into the stone wall next to the large window that sat behind the desk and to drive their two interlocked swords closer to Methusael's face, who tried to resist and push them back, but he had whacked his head against the stone wall when Kani pushed him, and his head ached to the point that he wasn't finding the strength quickly enough. Regardless, he was keeping Kani at bay for the moment.

Now it was Kani's turn to mock. "More trouble than I'm worth, aren't I, Methusael?" he asked.

"Hence why I wanted to kill you from the very first day." Methusael spat back. "I didn't care how it was done, I just knew that I couldn't succeed so long as you lived."

"But what about all of that poppycock you were saying earlier about how I couldn't do anything on my own?" Kani grinned, twisting Methusael's insults of before back at his foe. "Obviously, _you _have it wrong, Methusael. It was _you _who couldn't do anything. Your plan was never destined to succeed!"

"Maybe, but I'm not going to let you have_ the satisfaction of beating me!_"

And with that, he threw Kani off of him, driving their swords apart. Kani backed up, still mad, but in better control of his impulses, and chose to continue the argument instead of continuing the sword fight.

"I'm not about to let you win either, Methusael." he growled as Methusael pushed himself off the stone wall he had been driven up against. "You don't deserve to _live_! You murdered my family! _And I will avenge them!_"

"Is _that _what this is about?" Methusael repeated, a little surprised. Despite the circumstances, he had to chuckle. "Ever so naive Kani. If this is really what you want, then you have the wrong creature."

This revelation brought Kani up short, and he stared at Methusael in surprise. "What? What are you saying?"

"Exactly what I just now said. If it's revenge for your mother and brother that you want, then I am not the creature you should be seeking it from."

Kani shook his head, in denial. "No." he muttered. "It was you! It was your plan! You killed them!"

"I may have arranged for their deaths, Kani," Methusael said, grinning, clearly enjoying the idea that he knew something Kani didn't, "but I wasn't the creature who carried them out."

* * *

Juniper had never really thought about it before, but it actually was pretty lonely down here in prison. Nobody to talk to except for maybe the passing insect and yourself. Easy to see how this could be considered punishment. Easy to see how it wasn't unheard of for creatures to loose grasp of their sanity while down here. Imprisonment in the dungeons was very effective for what it set out to do, maybe even more than intended.

It was also boring.

It was added by the fact that Juniper knew that he wasn't likely to stay here long. He hadn't done anything wrong, except for siding himself with Methusael for as long as he did before he figured out the truth, and given the circumstances, he didn't think anybeast was going to hold that against him. He also knew that there was no way Methusael was going to be able to keep control of the castle for much longer than a day. Either the now more numerous mice would stage a takeover, or the already mutinous royal guard would overthrow the idiot.

So he just needed to be patient and wait. Hopefully, before nighttime tomorrow, it would all be over, and he would be a free beast yet again.

It was just boring to wait.

Fortunately, he needn't wait long.

The better part of the evening since Methusael had ordered him down here (which Juniper was half-surprised by, having expected Methusael to sooner kill him than bother imprisoning him in a castle he couldn't hope to maintain control over) before he could hear increased activity somewhere above him. It was hard to make out what exactly from the distorted sounds he was hearing. Even though he was in the cell closest to the entrance into the dungeons and thereby was in the best position to hear what was happening elsewhere in the castle, he couldn't make out what was happening. But it was clear that whoever was in the castle at the moment was moving around a lot, as if in preparation, as these movements were much too quiet to be part of any battle.

Juniper wasn't waiting for much longer before he heard the heavy metal door that usually barred the entrance to the dungeons swing open on it's rusty hinges, followed by the light pattering of pawsteps as more than one creature headed his way. They came into view presently. At first, Juniper saw a pair of foxes from the royal guard, and for one fleeting moment, thought that Methusael had changed his mind about locking him away, then realized that these weren't the same two creatures that had locked him away, but a different pair, and they seemed more optimistic. Better still, following behind them was a group of mice, who were interacting peacefully with the foxes.

By the time they had arrived at Juniper's cell and proceeded to unlock it, he had already guessed what had taken place.

"Master Juniper, good evening, I'm Hyrum." one of the mice greeted once Juniper was out of his cell. "We were wondering where you had gotten to."

"Aye, rubbed Methusael's fur the wrong way." Juniper replied in explanation, grinning weakly. "I take it, then, that it's over now."

"Yes, Methusael's control over the castle has been safely relinquished."

"How many harmed in the process?"

"None, so far, but no one has actually found Methusael yet, at least not that has been reported yet. For right now, we've been focusing on seeing to it that the royal guard stands down, which they have been doing quite willingly thus far."

"Good, I would've ordered them to stand down either way." Juniper said, relived, while rubbing the back of his head with one paw. He headed for the exit, the others following. "So, tell me what I've missed."

"Nothing much, we entered the castle stealthily, which probably sounds malicious, but fortunately, it never came to that." Hyrum explained, hurrying to keep up with the speedier fox. "Once it was clear that you were missing, Captain Moroni and Lord Kani ordered that you be found. I do not know where his lordship has gotten to, but Captain Moroni requested that he speak to you once you were found. Last I saw, he was in the entry hall."

"Good, we'll head there, then." Juniper said, as they reached the exit to the dungeons and stepped out into the castle itself. "As for Lord Kani, I somehow think we might need to worry about him. Best gather together a party to search for him, all of them armed."

"You think he crossed paths with Methusael?" Hyrum asked.

"I don't think, I know." Juniper corrected. "Kani has no other reason to be missing."

* * *

Kani's first reaction to Methusael's revelation that he was not the creature who had spilt the blood of his family, at least not directly, was that the fox was lying. Trying to throw Kani off. Buy time. He tried studying Methusael's face for any confirmations of this, but it was hard to read. However, Kani then remembered something he had very nearly forgotten.

"Your vermin mercenaries." he murmured aloud, then gave Methusael a glare. "Where are they?"

Methusael shrugged, clearly not happy about the subject. "Probably halfway to the eastern sea by now." he confessed. "They made it clear that they weren't planning to stay."

"Knew a lost cause when they saw one, eh?" Kani quipped, but was quickly serious again. "Whatever the case, are you implying that they murdered my family?"

"Sais and Grim?" Methusael repeated, then laughed at the idea. "They weren't even under my employ yet when Hax was murdered. It couldn't have been them."

"Then _who was_?"

Methusael grinned cruelly. "It doesn't matter." he said. "We ultimately had a difference of opinions and...parted ways."

"Are saying that you murdered the real killer?" Kani growled menacingly.

Methusael shook his head in refusal. "I wouldn't even waste my dying breath telling you the answer to that, Kani."

And then, this time, it was Methusael who let out a yell, and threw himself at Kani. Kani, caught off guard, quickly started backing away, raising his sword up protectively to block Methsuael's reckless blows.

"You shouldn't even be a member of the royal family!" Methusael yelled as he swung his blade again and again. "It should've been me! It should've been my whole family line! No Fennix should have ever been the ruler of this land! They aren't _truly _of royal blood! It was my family, the Redd family, that are the true rulers! And that should've _never _changed! But it did! Just because of some stupid _aunt!_"

Kani was silent throughout the tirade, letting Methusael go on for awhile whilst blocking blows at the same time, until he finally got leverage enough to throw off Methusael's blade, then planted another kick to Methusael's chest, making the fox back up. It was then that he added in his two bits.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe it wasn't meant to be for you to be the leader?" Kani asked with a bark. "I mean, look at the mess your brief reign has brought you! If I can be incapable of ruling a land, you certainly can be!"

"Then, by your own logic Kani, it wouldn't matter who _did _rule!" Methusael snapped. "We would both be just as bad!"

"In that case, someone else would have to step in and intervene!" Kani argued.

"But there _is _no one else! It's just you and me, Kani! There is no one else in all of Angola that would be capable of ruling a people!"

But as Methusael said it, Kani suddenly realized that wasn't true, and for a moment, all of his other emotions was replaced with both surprise, and a sudden sense of understanding. "_That _was what Mormon was trying to accomplish." he murmured to himself.

"There is no third creature, Kani!" Methsuael repeated. "We have no choice but to accept that only one of us two can be the ruler!"

Kani, however, knew that also wasn't true. "No matter what anybeast says, Methusael, we are still free to choose," he said, something he had first heard from his brother Hax, "which means there is always going to be a choice."

And with that, he charged Methusael, and the two were fighting again, but this time calmer, with a bit more dignity and not so recklessly. They circled the room a couple times over, occasionally tripping over things that had been accidently knocked over during their fighting. Finally, at one point, during a moment where their swords interlocked, Kani gave Methusael a push, knocking him over. Falling to the floor beside the desk, Methusael quickly worked to get back up, but Kani moved to stop him, anxious to end this fight. His opponent wasn't going to let to let that happen, however, and grabbed an empty wine glass that had been knocked off the desk at one point during the fight and broke, and drove it up to stab the jagged broken edge into the inside Kani's upper thigh.

Kani let out a yell of pain and yanked the offending piece of crystal from his leg, and despite favoring that leg somewhat, turned to resume the fight, swinging his blade more fiercely at Methusael now. He quickly drove his opponent back behind the desk and before the window that sat behind it. It quickly became clear that they had moved too close to this window when Methusael's sword, having been deflected by Kani at one point, struck the window, and cracked it, sending a spiderweb of fractures across the single pane of glass. As the two swung their swords again at each other, Kani struck the pane, and this time it completely shattered, sending shards of glass scattering everywhere as the study was opened up directly to the outdoors, allowing a gust of wind in, as well as the light from the rising sun.

Amongst the ruins of the window, the two backed off for a moment, and stared each other down. They were both growing exhausted from the long sword fight, Kani especially. Thinking this could be used to his advantage and starting to see that maybe he couldn't hope to beat Kani, Methusael sought some way to end the fight.

"Give it up, Kani!" Methusael exclaimed at his opponent, trying one last time at reason. "We don't have to keep fighting like this, you know! One simply has to back down! I meant what I said about how there can only be one of us to become the ruler of the land! But even if what you said is true, only one of us can win! It'll be easier if you just surrender! C'mon, Kani, you have nothing left to loose!"

"Neither do you!" Kani argued back, not at all swayed. "And all of the odds are against you! Even if you do manage to beat me and slay me, what would that get you? There's no creature left in the land that's stupid enough to follow you! You will have no place to run! No place to hide! You will simply be captured, and be made to face justice! If anybeast should surrender, it's you, Methusael! But I don't plan to let you to surrender! I plan to make you pay for the crimes you have committed to me, _and _to Angola!"

"If you think I'm just going to stand still and let you finish this with one fell stroke, Kani, you can forget it!" Methusael spat back. "I will keep fighting until I have breathed my last gasp of air! Until my heart pumps my blood for one final time! _I will not give up and just fade into the night peacefully!_"

"I don't expect you to!" Kani exclaimed back. "I wouldn't have this any other way, and you know it!"

"Then come and get me, Kani!" Methusael replied, edging on his opponent. "Come and slay me!"

And Kani came, charging suddenly and without warning. Methusael quickly reacted by raising up his sword to block the oncoming blow, just like all of the times before. But only this time, it proved to be the last time for this particular sword. It had withstood the stronger and better sword of Martin very well up until now, but this time, the blow the opposing sword had to offer it simply proved too much. With one blow from Kani's blade, Methusael's sword snapped in two, and the broken portion of the blade clattered to the floor. Alarmed, Methusael quickly brought the remaining jagged portion of the blade still attached to the hilt to point at Kani, but Kani slapped it out of Methusael's paw with the flat of Martin's blade, sending the remains of the blade sailing out the broken window. Then, just as Methusael had time enough to watch the hilt spiral out of sight, Kani slammed into him, spun the enemy fox around, and slammed him into the wall beside the shattered window, pressing his blade against Methsuael's throat.

"So be it." Kani growled menacingly.

* * *

Getting out of their tower room was one thing. But as Sais and Grim quickly learned, getting down off the roof of Midnight Castle and to the ground undetected, and then away to safety, was quite another. To get out of the tower room, they had something to climb down from that worked like a rope, but they didn't have anything like that now, and even if they did, they wouldn't have anything to tie to. Furthermore, enemy forces were now swarming all around the castle now, both in and out, and it was proving to be quite difficult to figure out how they were going to get away undetected.

"Well, oh fearless leader, how are we going to get out of this one?" Sais asked sarcastically, as he followed Grim across the roof of the wing they were on.

"Be quiet and let me think." Grim growled, who was starting to loose patience with anything that pressured him.

"If only Aurora was here." Sais remarked, peering over the edge of the roof cautiously. "She would have some kind of an idea. At least one better than trying to jump, anyway."

"We may have no other choice, Sais." Grim replied, and motioned the ferret to come closer before pointing a claw to the roof of the barracks, which sat much lower than the roofs of the other sections of the castle. "That roof is the lowest one there is. It will be the safest one we will have to jump from."

Sais looked at it for a momentum gauging the two-story height they would have to jump down to less-than-level rocky ground. He didn't like it. But he also had to admit that they had little other choice.

"All right, let's try it." he said in submission.

They headed towards the roof in question, walking across the wing that attached to the shorter barracks, then jumping down from it's story-taller roof to the roof of the barracks. Like when they climbed down from their tower room, they landed on the roof perfectly, and without losing balance. But their luck ended there.

As their misfortune would have it, there happened to be an open window in the space dividing the roof of the wing they had just jumped from and the roof of the barracks. At this window happened to be a party of mice, one of which happened to be looking out the window the moment Sais and Grim made their jump to the roof of the barracks. Crying out and raising the alarm, the mice quickly gathered the window to find someway to deal with the two vermin that had appeared seemingly from nowhere. Two of them happened to be archers, and had their bows ready before Sais and Grim could, a first for the two mercenaries, but certainly not impossible.

The next logical thing to do would have been to ask the two vermin to surrender, but when it seemed clear that they would not, one of the two archers fired his bow regardless not being told to, and fired off an arrow as a warning shot. It zipped between Sais's legs, surprising the ferret enough that he jumped in startlement, and lost his balance, beginning to fall over. As he fell, he grabbed Grim's arm to try and stabilize himself, but ended up just pulling the weasel along with him.

By this point in time, the other mouse archer fired his bow, his arrow grazing Grim's back. The weasel let out a roar of displeasure before Sais, in his fall, pulled him over, and onto the slant of the barracks roof. They skidded down the tilted edge and on off the roof, hitting the ground two-stories below hard, and entirely not in the way they planned.

Sais managed to hit the ground somewhat on his footpaws, but landed wrong, and the impact ended up breaking his right leg with a frightful crack of bone. The resulting pain was bad enough that Sais yelled and doubled over, completely immobilized for the moment. Grim faired less well, landing hard on his side. Unlike his ferret companion, he didn't break any bones, but he hit his head hard enough on something that it left a nasty gash on his brow, which bled freely.

Enraged, Grim immediately clamped a paw to his brow, and despite his injured back protesting, whirled to face his companion angrily. "Now look what you have done!" he exclaimed. "Your clumsiness has ruined everything! We're lucky to be alive, at best! We're..."

He trailed off when he noticed suddenly that their fall had not gone unnoticed by the ground forces either, and therefore, they both were not surrounded by mouse and fox warriors, all of which were armed and were aiming their weapons at the pair.

"...in big trouble." Sais hissed through clenched teeth to finish Grim's statement, gingerly probing his injured leg.

One mouse pushed his way through the encirclement of the surrounding creatures, and looked the situation over.

"Well," Moroni remarked finally, not bothering to hide his grin of amusement, "look who decided to drop in."

A few moments later, the two vermin found themselves caught and in the barracks dining room, their injuries treated for the moment, but also very tightly bound, and were in the midst of being interrogated.

"So, you are two of the mercenaries Methsuael had hired for his services." Moroni remarked, circling the pair.

"Yes." Sais remarked, wincing frequently. His broken leg had been set and braced, but it still hurt like crazy, and he had been given nothing for the pain as of yet.

"However, we terminated our employment with him shortly before your attack." Grim added matter-of-factly. "It was clear we had nothing more to gain here."

"So was it you two, in addition to your third companion, who attempted to assassinate Kani all those weeks ago?" Moroni asked next.

"Aye." Sais replied. "And for your information, _mouse_, our "third companion" is named Aurora. And don't bother asking where she is, because we don't know."

"Oh don't worry, Lord Kani already told me." Moroni assured them. "She's dead."

This brought looks of surprise from the two vermin, though they had already started to suspect as such.

"Now, are there any more of you?" Moroni asked.

"No." Grim said. "Mercenaries don't typically work in much larger groups than this."

It was a point Moroni did not argue. "Clearly, you had been hiding in the castle when we came along to take over, and tried to escape." he surmised. "So I'm curious, have you been hiding in the castle for all of this time?"

"No." Grim answered.

"Up until you and your kind laid siege to the castle, we had just been hiding in the woods." Sais explained.

"Then how did Methsuael relay instructions to you?" Moroni asked. "Did you come to him, or did he come to you?"

"Neither." Grim replied.

"Then how did you receive your instructions?"

Grim glanced at his questioner for a moment. "By messenger."

"Messenger?" Moroni intrigued. "Who was the messenger?"

Sais and Grim exchanged looks.

"We honestly don't know, mouse." Sais admitted.

"There was never any need for an identity to be revealed." Grim explained.

"Always wore a cloak this one did." Sais added. "Hid his features well. Never spoke, either. Reckon it was a fox, though. Certainly was tall enough. Couldn't have been Methusael in disguise, either. Walk was all wrong. Lacked that self-confident swagger."

Moroni pondered this for a moment, not liking this. "We need to find this messenger." he deduced, and turned to some of his mice. "Spilt up, and look for any clues about this messenger. See if you can find Kani, too, he might have a few ideas." he turned back to the vermin. "If you have anything else to tell me about this messenger, now would be the time."

Sais merely shrugged, and Grim made no motion or response.

"Very well." Moroni said with a sigh, and turned to leave. "Lock the pair of them up in the dungeons, but see to it that they get whatever medical care they might need. I'm going to help search for Kani..."

It was then that Grim spoke, and offered one last observation he had made about the messenger that he had always kept to himself until now.

"He is a she, mouse."

* * *

"Any last words Methusael before I relieve you of your head?" Kani asked darkly, pressing his blade tighter against Methusael's throat.

Methusael tried to swallow, but remained calm. "Nothing that I wish to say to you Kani." he remarked. "Nothing that I haven't already said, at least."

"Very well." Kani said, and moved to make the final blow.

It was then that search party that had been sent out in search of Kani arrived at the study and entered. Among them was Mathoni.

"Kani!" he exclaimed in surprise at the situation.

"Keep back!" Kani barked at them. "I must do this alone!"

"Then just do it already, Kani!" Methusael said. "Don't leave me in suspense! Or are you going to make my death slow and painful?"

"Don't tempt me." Kani growled, turning his attention back to Methusael.

"Kani!" Mathoni exclaimed again, this time in more of imploring manner. "Don't..."

"I said, keep back!" Kani called again.

"Kani, ignore them and focus on me!" Methusael said again. "Are you going to kill me or not? Seeing that my life hangs in the balance, I'd really like to know!"

Kani pressed the sword tighter against Methusael's throat, slowly, before stopping again, suddenly. If he pressed much harder, he would either crush the fox's windpipe, or cut it open.

"This is what you wanted, wasn't it?" Methusael asked, resigning himself to his fate. "To kill me. To slay me. To use that blade to spill my blood. To seek your revenge."

Kani hesitated, and looked at the blade in question for a moment, remembering suddenly that this was the sword of Martin that he was wielding, a blade that wasn't even his.

"Kani," Mathoni said again, also hesitant. "Are ye really goin' t' kill him?"

There was nothing more Kani wanted.

But he also remembered what this blade was supposed to represent.

Peace.

Not warfare.

Not bloodshed.

That was what Abbot Isaiah had told him.

It was what Hax had told him as well.

"I already have the traits of a warrior." he murmured to himself, then looked with glaring eyes into that of Methusael's, and added, louder, "This sword was not meant to shed defenseless blood."

And with that, he removed the sword and left Methusael free, allowing the fox to fall to the ground, gasping for breath, rubbing at his throat.

Kani looked down at him for a moment. "Be thankful that I am better creature than you are, Methusael." he remarked with narrowed eyes. "That I have a compassionate heart that you will never have."

Methusael merely returned the glare. But Kani didn't care. Feeling surprisingly at peace, Kani turned his back on his foe and faced the party that stood in the doorway of the study. Mathoni stood slightly apart from them, giving Kani at first a bewildered look, then realizing why Kani had done what he had done, grinned in understanding and support.

Then, just as quickly, the grin was replaced with an expression of alarm.

"Kani, look out!" the young otter exclaimed, pointing behind Kani.

Without hesitating, Kani spun around, used the flat of Martin's sword to knocked the concealed dagger Methusael had pulled out and was about to stab Kani with, then ran Methusael through, pinning the fox to the frame of the broken window. Methusael gasped in shock at the pain, and grabbed at the blade protruding from his gut with both paws, feeling his own blood, warm and sticky, gushing from around the edges of the sword. He gaped at Kani for a few moments, opening and closing his mouth several times, trying to find his voice.

Finally, giving Kani an almost puzzled look, he asked, "What happened to your compassionate heart?"

"You tried to stab it." Kani replied bitterly.

Methusael looked at Kani blankly for a few moments, his eyes becoming blurry, then laughed, finding Kani's response humorous. He kept laughing as his life rapidly drained out of him, like his blood drained out of his wound. He was still smiling by the time he was gone forever. With one tug, Kani pulled the sword free, and let Methusael's lifeless body fall to the floor, blood pooling around it.

A long silence as everybeast present stared at the dead body in shock.

"Methusael, you silly beast." Kani finally murmured, rubbing at his face with one paw. "I was going to let you live. So, in turn, you forfeited your life trying to get in the last say in the matter."

* * *

A little later, the group escorted a slightly numb feeling Kani out of the study, and down the hallway outside, Mathoni standing beside his fox friend.

"The castle's yores, matey." the young otter was telling him. "The royal guard has completely stood down without firin' a shot. They're all wantin' t' serve ye again. We found Juniper in the dungeons, and freed him, an' he's been helpin'. Also got wind that we captured th' two vermin mercenaries that tried t' assassinate ye! It's all over Kani! Ye did it. Ye freed Angola!"

"Yes, your lordship, you have saved us." one of the members of the royal guard remarked.

"Did I?" Kani asked, who wasn't so sure anymore.

Before anyone could come up with an answer, a shout interrupted them.

"Kani!" Adah exclaimed, running up to the fox and grabbing him in a hug, kissing him on the cheek. "_Here _you are! I was starting to worry! I thought something had happened! Did you find Methusael?"

"Yes." Kani replied numbly, barely acknowledging Adah's presence.

"And?"

"He's dead." Mathoni replied for Kani.

"Oh good." Adah said, relieved. "Did he, uh, tell you anything?"

"Only that he wasn't the one who carried out the deed that killed my family." Kani replied, and mentally started pondering on who it might have been.

"Kani!" Moroni exclaimed, also arriving suddenly. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Hello captain." Kani replied weakly.

"I don't know if you heard, your lordship," Moroni continued, "But we caught the two vermin mercenaries. I took the liberty of interrogating them, they're the only two that were left."

"Anything else?"

"Just how they stayed in contact with Methusael. By messenger. We're searching now for any clues of who it might be, but I'm honestly not too hopeful. All we know about this creature was that the species is fox, and that it's a she."

"A she?" Kani repeated, and then suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

A she.

A female messenger.

Who delivered messages to the mercenaries.

Clearly in league with Methusael.

But hadn't been seen in awhile.

Then Kani remembered Methusael's cryptic clue about the real killer of his family.

The fact that they had a disagreement.

And it then all clicked.

Without warning, Kani spun around and grabbed the offending creature, slammed the creature against the wall, and took the sword in his paw, still stained with Methusael's blood, and pressed it the creature's throat as Kani stared in shock at the panicked eyes of this creature.

The others were surprised at this action.

"Kani, what..." Mathoni began, moving towards his fox friend, but Kani interrupted him with a shout that revealed all.

"_It was you!_" Kani exclaimed into Adah's frightened face. "_You killed my family!_"


	65. Chapter 64

Next chapter. It's a little late, but it's a little long, too, so it's justified. :P Turned out pretty good, continues to wrap things up. One more chapter to go! :D

Chapter 64

A long moment of silence fell in the hallway. It was so quiet that the breathing of all the creatures present seemed painfully loud. Mathoni could've sworn his heart was pumping so loudly in surprise that he was surprised no one else seemed to hear it. He and Moroni, as well as the other guards that were present, stared at Kani in surprise for a moment. Kani, if anything, however, ignored these expressions, and focused on Adah's startled expression, the vixen looking like she hadn't been given quite enough time to realize what just had happened, and seemed more in shock than anything.

And it was to her throat that Kani pressed his bloodstained sword, Methusael's blood staining the fur about Adah's neck. Breathing heavily, Kani stared into the eyes of the vixen, painfully, but also daring her to challenge his declaration. Because he knew it to be true now.

That she was guilty of murder.

Mathoni was the first to speak again, quickly moving to Kani's side, trying to pull the fox away. "Kani, wot are ye doin'?" he asked in bewilderment.

"She did it." Kani whispered, staring into Adah's eyes still, searching for the final confirmation that it was true. "She killed them. On Methusael's order. She killed Hax and my mother."

Moroni didn't see the connection, however. "How do you figure that?" he asked, doubting, as he stepped forward as well.

"Because the messenger was female." Kani replied coldly. "We know Adah was in league with Methusael for a time, a time that fits with the time Methusael would've required a messenger. It makes sense. Then that messenger seemingly vanished, around the same time Adah broke away from Methusael. Furthermore, Methusael confessed _to me_ that he had not killed anyone. He plotted the deaths, but he didn't carry them out. Another creature did. He refused to tell me though." He shifted his stance and continued staring at Adah. "It was you, wasn't it? Because Methusael _did _reveal that he and the killer had a disagreement, and they broke away. Like you had."

There was a moment of silence as Kani stared at Adah, while Adah stared back. You could see the gears turning in both of their minds. The others all exchanged glances.

"Kani, just because it fits the facts doesn't mean..." Moroni began to speak, about to reason that they didn't have much proof of this seemingly wild claim.

But he was cut short when Adah suddenly burst into tears, and began wailing in dismay.

"It's true!" she wailed. "It's true, all of it is true! I was the messenger! And I killed them, I killed them both, I am the one with their blood on my paws! I killed them both, both Master Hax and Lady Grinta! I killed them!"

She began repeating the claim over and over for a few moments before it degraded into a sad and wailing noise as she cried. Shocked, the others looked at each other again, once more unsure what to make of this. Kani, however, never broke his gaze with Adah, who was trying hard to avoid it. The male fox looked more hurt than ever now.

"_Why_?" he finally asked, nothing more than a whisper, but it was clear it was still a blow for Adah for him to ask.

"It was Methusael, it was always Methusael!" the vixen replied through her tears, "I...I stumbled onto what he was doing as far back as last winter! I tried to tell someone what he was doing, but Methusael caught up with me! Said he planned to insure his little secret didn't get out, even if it meant killing me! But I didn't care, I was willing to die for this, knowing that Methusael could never adequately explain away how I had died! But he knew that, too, and was really hoping to find someway to get me to stay silent and side with him, to help him! I should've seen what he was doing to me then and there, but I didn't! So when he threatened to kill you Kani, then and there, I...I..."

Now Kani was bewildered. "Wait, you mean to say that you killed _them _to try and protect _me_?" he asked, shocked that it was something so simple and somewhat logical, from a sadistic point of view.

Adah nodded, and continued. She was babbling now; it seems she had been carrying this secret, anxious to get it off her chest, for too long now, and couldn't stop now that she had begun. "It almost tore me apart to do it!" she declared, sobbing still, "It nearly drove me mad to kill them, to go against everything I believed in, just to do it! In fact, at times I wondered if I really _did _go mad! Particularly after I stabbed Hax. Kani, that was the hardest thing I have ever done! I didn't want to do you, you should know that much! I only wish I could've done it as fast as painlessly for him as possible, but Methusael wouldn't stand for it! He wanted the death slow and purposeful! He...he was taking great pleasure in my discomfort, I know it! And he got it, plagues and pestilence, he got it! It tore me apart, to see Hax lying there, bleeding to death, growing weak, the most painful look of betrayal on his face..."

Kani suddenly silenced her by gently placing a claw over her lips. He didn't want to hear the details of Hax's murder, nor his mother's. He knew enough as it was.

The motion had an oddly calming effect on Adah as well, who obediently fell silent, and suddenly in control of her emotions again, as she immediately stopped crying, and looked Kani in the eye for a moment. There was a brief moment of understanding between the two, but it was gone just as quickly again.

"I didn't want to do it, Kani." Adah assured him, looking away in shame again. "But I was left with little other choice. It was either them...or you...and of the three, it was you I could stand to see you die the least."

"And what made my life more important than theirs?" Kani asked her slowly and deliberately. "What made it any more right to kill them?"

Adah began tearing up again. "I love you, Kani." she confessed. "I...I couldn't bare to see anything happen to you as a result. I...I thought this would genuinely be the only way to insure that."

"_But it didn't work_." Kani pressed harshly, the beginnings of a scowl starting to appear on his face. "Methusael tried to have me killed anyway, and he _nearly succeeded_!"

"I know, and that was my wake up call!" Adah replied, almost as if to defend herself. "It was around then that I realized just how much Methusael was manipulating me, and didn't intend to carry out any promises! That's when I switched sides! I...I...I had hoped that after helping Captain Moroni and you take back the castle that Methusael would automatically be presumed guilty for the deaths of Master Hax and Lady Grinta, and that would be the end of the matter, and life would continue as normal, but..." she trailed off, ears folded back in grief, dismay, and guilt, "...it was too much to hope for. I...I...should've know it was too much to hope for..." she trailed off, nearly bursting out into wailing tears again, but managed to stay silent after that.

"If you had truly loved me," Kani said, again slowly and deliberately, "you wouldn't have done this."

Adah nodded in complete agreement, seeing this now. She finally made eye contact with Kani. "You probably think I'm a monster for this, don't you?"

Kani did not reply, and now it was he who couldn't make eye contact. He purposely looked away from Adah's face, to try and hide his thoughts. But Adah knew him too well for that.

"I knew it." she murmured, looking away herself, looking dejected, but somehow at peace with the idea. "I knew you would think that. There were so many times during which I was so tempted to tell you the truth then and there...but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew what you would think of me. And I didn't want that."

"Because you always had a way of cheering me up." Kani remarked, almost ironically, remembering better times between the two of them.

Adah nodded, and fell silent. Everyone fell silent, in fact, all of them brewing in their own mixed emotions about this matter. Mathoni, probably feeling the most saddened by all of this, closed his eyes and bowed his head in silent dismay. Moroni sighed to himself, and also bowed his head, knowing that according to the laws Angola followed, justice would need to be served, but he was completely unsure if any of them would have the gall to do it.

Perhaps Adah was thinking the same thing, and was what led her to say what she had said next.

"Just make it quick, Kani." she said softly, then closed her eyes and lifted her head to better expose her throat to the blade that was still held to it. "That is all I ask."

Kani looked at her, somewhat surprised. "Adah..."

"I can't live like this, Kani." she pressed. "Not while I know what I have done. What pain and suffering I, alone, am responsible for." she sighed. "Furthermore, it is the law. And I deserve nothing less, either way."

Kani stared at her for a long moment, clearly torn. For a moment, it actually looked like he might do it, that he might actually slay Adah then and there. But he hesitated, and looked long and hard at Adah's resigned and awaiting face, expression, and posture.

And he suddenly knew why Hax had been so adamant that there was nothing Kani could've done to prevent his and their mother's death.

Because, if Kani had known then what he knew now, there wasn't.

"I always did dislike that law." Kani murmured finally, saying it such a way that, were the circumstances different, it might have been funny.

And with one quick motion, he removed the blade from Adah's neck without harming a single strand of her fur, and let it drop to his side. He looked Adah's surprised form over for one last, then turned his back to her.

Vowing to never look upon her face again.

Head lowered, and eyes squeezed shut to try and control the rage of emotions that were bottled up within him, he was silent for a long moment. Adah, perhaps surprised that she was still alive, stared at Kani's back for a moment, and slowly dropped to her knees, clearly bewildered, and not understanding.

Finally, Kani found his voice.

"Get out of here, Adah." he murmured. "Leave Angola. Now. And never show your face here again."

Adah stared at Kani in surprise, as she slowly rose to her feet again, looking for some explanation, or perhaps one last, proper, glimpse of Kani's features. But Kani wasn't going to let her have it, and kept his back firmly turned to her. For a long moment, nothing happened, leading Kani to begin to wonder if Adah really was about to resist his order. But then, without warning, he heard Adah turn and run, footpaws padding loudly against the stone floor as she fled, without warning, and would not stop again until she was well out of Angola.

Kani listened to the pawsteps, and waited until the echo they created had rebounded down the corridor, until they faded away into nothing, until silence and fallen again, until it was clear that Adah was gone and would not come back, before he did anything in response. With one angry swing of his arm, he threw the sword of Martin to the floor loudly, then fell to his knees himself, trying desperately to prevent the tears burning behind his eyelids see the light of day.

He ultimately failed.

And after that day, Adah Eventide was never again seen in Angola.

* * *

Several, several, hours later found Kani sitting in the desk chair in his study, staring blankly out the window at the world beyond. At least, through what remained of the window. The room still heavily bore the signs of the battle that had taken place here. The window was, of course, still broken, and shards of glass lay scattered all over. Scuff marks were on both walls and floors due to sword tips nicking them. The items and parchments that had last been set on the desk were now mostly scattered on the floor around it, the desk itself sitting at a crooked angle now. The chair Kani sat in was the only thing that had been righted, as it had been originally lying on it's side when the fox came to it and righted it so he could sit in it.

Blood was also still pooled on the floor, cold now, and beginning to dry. Lying still in the middle of this puddle still was Methusael's body, it's middle still baring the ugly and piercing gorge the sword of Martin had left. Kani was trying his best to ignore it. Every time he saw the body and remember the being it had represented, he was filled with anger, and repeatedly just wanted to take something sharp and repeatedly stab the offending body again and again. But Kani knew it would do no good. The creature who had used that body was now long gone and dead, leaving behind the physical body like a squirrel would leave a nutshell behind.

Save for Kani, who had quietly wandered in here after Adah's departure at his own insistence, few had entered the room. Kani had not allowed it. He just wanted to be left alone. He knew it was bothersome and frustrating for other creatures; Moroni had wanted to come into the room to properly dispose of Methusael's body and he wanted to discuss with Kani about where to go from here. Other creatures just really wanted to talk to Kani, such as Mathoni, to ensure he was all right. They all knew he had a rough day today, and they wanted to do something to help, or at least just see for themselves that he was going to pull through.

Exactly why Kani had disallowed anyone to enter the room without his permission. He was not some object on display to be gawked at, like some decoration. Nor was he some puzzle that was to be constantly prodded at until it was solved. If they really wanted to help him, they could help by leaving him alone.

The only creature who had been allowed to break this standing was Bluejay. The healer vixen had come in at her own insistence, and looked Kani over, making sure that he was not too physically harmed from his battle with Methusael. She stayed long enough to properly dress the relatively few and minor injured Kani had sustained, and then was promptly sent back out again. Kani had not been bothered since.

All Kani wanted was time to think, and time to rest from the wearies of the takeover of Midnight Castle. Time he had gotten, and a great deal of it, indeed. For it had still been early morning when he had secluded himself to the study. Now, it was coming close to evening, and Kani had scarcely moved during all of this time. He had eaten nothing and had drank nothing. He spoke the barest minimum of words as he thought it necessary. At one point, he had blissfully dozed off to take a nap, regaining his strength after the wearying sword fight at dawn. But when he had awoken again, he still did not move.

Physically, he was fine. But, not for the first time, both Bluejay and Sister Daisy agreed there was enough cause to worry about the fox's mental state, and they both feared it had finally snapped due to the stress of all of this. However, for now, they did nothing about it. They would wait until explicitly asked before they forcibly took charge of Kani's well-being, whether or not the fox liked it or not.

Until then, the land and it's inhabiting creatures went on without Kani. Having finished relinquishing what remained of Methusael's power over Midnight Castle, a small celebration for the victory followed. However, unlike the celebrations that arose when Kani returned to Angola with the Redwallers, which were large, bright, and cheery, these celebrations were a bit more withdrawn, mostly because word of Adah's confession had spread like wildfire, and it made the victory seem very hollow.

After the celebrations were over, life began again as usual, like it had before Methusael's conspiracy. Many Angolians completely expected things to go back to normal. However, others were smart enough to know that things were not back to normal yet, and unless something was done about Kani, it wouldn't ever likely be normal ever again.

Therefore, it was then that someone finally broke Kani's peace.

And he wasn't even Angolian.

Without announcing his arrival or even asking if he could come in, Mathoni pushed open the door to the study with one paw, letting it bang against the adjacent wall as it swung, and stepped inside, looking the room over. Seeing that nothing had changed in the room since he had last been in here, the young otter sighed, and then stepped up to the desk that divided him from the supposed lord of the land.

"Kani," he spoke calmly, but with determination, as he approached, "I need t' speak t' ye, mate."

Kani, his back turned to Mathoni, made no verbal response. But he didn't order Mathoni out of the room, either, which was a good thing. Furthermore, one of Kani's pointed ears twisted around in Mathoni's direction when he spoke and stayed there. It wasn't much, but it was enough to suggest that Kani was willing to listen.

Mathoni first looked around for a chair to sit in before he started. Spying one, he dragged it nosily across the room with one paw, and then sat in it, facing Kani.

"Yore subjects are wonderin' where their leader is." he announced plainly, getting to the point.

Kani shook his head slowly in disagreement. "They know where I am."

"That's not my point." Mathoni waited for a response, but got none, and blew a frustrated sigh. "C'mon, matey, talk t' me. Just sittin' up 'ere all day an' doin' nothin' isn't goin' t' fix anythin'." Another pause for a response. Again, there was none. "Look, I know ye ain't in the best of moods at the moment. Can't say I blame ye. After wot happened this mornin'..." realizing what he was saying, Mathoni wisely cut himself short, "Look, me point is that ye ain't gonna gain anythin' by lockin' yoreself in a room with a dead body an' mope." he jabbed a claw at Methusael's body for emphasis.

He still got no response from Kani, and instead, seemed to have ruined any chances of getting one, too, for Kani's ear turned away from Mathoni, and now the fox seemed firmly set upon ignoring the otter's words. This only annoyed Mathoni, and he sought a means of getting some kind of response.

"Wot are ye goin' t' do in a couple of days 'bout that beast's body, anyway?" he asked, trying to establish the fact that Kani couldn't stay in here forever. "It's goin' t' start rottin' 'ere soon, and it's an ugly enough sight as it is."

Still no response.

"Of course, at th' rate ye're goin' ye gonna starve an' die afore that point. Either that, or thirst. I think Sister Mint told me once that havin' yore fill of water is more important than havin' yore fill of vittles, an' ye couldn't survive as long without water. Dunno if it's true, but I suppose it makes sense. Sort of. Either way, if ye plan t' survive the rest of th' week, ye'll need a mixture of both t' survive."

Kani continued to remain silent.

"All right, Kani, I get it, ye don't want t' 'ear me out right now, but do it anyway. 'Cause the point of th' matter is that ye've got a lot of creatures out there now that 'ave just now managed t' get rid of a dictator that was interested in only th' power. And they don't look like it, but they need a leader right now, and assurances that their leader will actually step up t' th' job. And I suppose I'm just th' first creature with th' guts t' ask."

"I don't wish to address this issue right now, Mathoni." Kani remarked suddenly.

"And why not?" Mathoni demanded. "Tell me wot it is, an' mebbe I can help ye get it worked out, so ye can get _on _with life. Y'know just as well as I that there's more t' it than this study."

Kani made no response. Dejectedly and a little put out, Mathoni frowned at the back of Kani's chair, and shook his head.

"Fine, I get it, I'll get me tail out of 'ere." he muttered to himself, standing. "Seems I'm just talkin' t' a brick wall anyway. Some friend ye've been, too. Y'know, I like t' think I've done a lot for ye. I helped ye realize the dangers in yore liddle kingdom 'ere, and I helped ye escape it. Saved yore life at least once, though I haven't really been keepin' track. I led ye t' Redwall an' back, and I supported ye when no one else did, _and _defended ye when others wanted ye t' be gone! I also helped rally t'gether beasts t' help ye take back this land!" he gave Kani a long glare. "An' this is th' thanks I get. Hmph." he looked away grumpily, then sighed once again in defeat. "I suppose it doesn't matter either way, though. Doesn't seem we were destined t' be friends for long."

Although Mathoni couldn't see it, Kani suddenly perked up a little at this comment, realizing something.

"By the way," Mathoni continued, turning for the door, "In case it might interest ye, us an' the Quorum of Warriors are goin' t' be headin' back for Redwall in the morning at sunrise. On the slight chance it might interest ye, best say yore goodbyes afore then."

He started for the door, stopped for a moment, then doubled back to the desk.

"Oh, an' _just_ because I'm such a good friend," he went on with a sarcastic tone, "I got this cleaned an' polished for ye."

He set something on the desktop, then turned and walked off again. Curious, Kani twisted his around to look at the object.

It was Martin's sword, indeed cleaned of Methusael's blood, as well polished, although it wasn't done very skillfully. Still, Kani couldn't help but be impressed. He looked up with the thought of possibly telling Mathoni this, but the otter was already heading out the door, closing it behind him. Kani looked back at the sword, then back out the window.

It was then that he realized he hadn't done something that he should've done the moment he returned to Angola.

* * *

There had been several things that had caused Kani to seclude himself like he did. Most of them are fairly obvious. However, one reason was that Kani was so torn over himself and what he wanted that he wasn't sure where he wanted to go now or do next. During all that time sitting in the study, one of things he hoped to sort out during that time was what to do next. Well, he got several ideas, but they all seemed that they would be half-hearted and forced to carry out, and decided against it.

He realized now that Mathoni was right. He did need to talk with someone, and get help to sort out this mess. And he couldn't do that sitting by himself in his study. It was just that Mathoni, as admirable as his intentions were, wasn't the right creature to talk to. Nor was Moroni, or the plethora of other creatures in Angola that no doubt wanted to help Kani get through this.

Right now, Kani only wanted to talk to one of two creatures.

Outside the castle now, he walked across the courtyard bathed in the orange light of the setting sun, and stopped before a certain location, and knelt down. He looked around for a moment, then looked what was before him sullenly, unsure where to begin.

"Hi," he greeted, for lack of a better way to start.

He looked at the two graves, eying the their tombstones sadly. On one side lay, buried under the soil of the earth, lay the body of Hax Fennix, while on the other lay the body of Lady Grinta Fennix. Being here didn't help Kani feel better, but he knew that if he was ever going to get good advice, it would be here.

Kani was silent for a moment, as he sought a way to begin. "I'm sorry," he finally said, "I didn't fulfill my promise. I...I didn't slay the creature responsible for your deaths. I...couldn't. Not Adah. Regardless of what she's done. It's a choice that will haunt me for the rest of my life, I know it, but...I let her go." he glanced up from his paws that he had been staring at and at the tombstones, oddly and suddenly feeling a bit better.

"You already know." he remarked with a faint grin as he realized this. Well, of course you would know already, but..." he shook his head, then glanced at his brother's grave. "Hax, you knew it was Adah all along, ever since you died. You knew when you spoke to me at Redwall. But you didn't tell me. Why?"

But even as the words were out of his mouth, he already had the answer. "Because it wouldn't have mattered, would it? My end choice would've been the same." he was silent for a long moment. "I just hope you're both satisfied with the choice I made."

Somehow, he thought they were.

"There's more to this than just Adah, however." Kani continued matter-of-factly. "There's also the matter of what to do now." he bowed his head. "Seeing everything that has happened, I feel...less able...than ever before to become lord of this land. And no matter I look at it, I feel very uneasy about doing anything more with my life without either of you. Furthermore, I feel like I've let some creatures down, and given others false hope of expectations I cannot possibly fulfill. And whenever I try to find a solution, I only end up drawing a blank." he sighed, and his voiced cracked. "I need help. I need guidance. I need support. _Your _support. You both would know what to do."

He was silent for a long moment.

"But then, maybe that's my problem." Kani remarked suddenly. "Methusael himself said that the only reason I got where I am now was because I was drawing off the support of another." he straightened a little bit. "Maybe what I need to do is put an end to that. Stop looking for support and just face the facts that I am going to just have to face some things on my own." he paused, losing some of his courage about this matter. "Regardless of how difficult it might seem." he managed a grin. "I suppose that's part of life though. So I should stop trying to avoid it, and just...live life to the fullest."

Then another thought came to him that made him brighten significantly. "And make my own choices about my life." he muttered aloud, as if uttering a momentous revelation. He glanced back down at the two graves. "That's what my problem was. From the very beginning. By trying to do what at the time seemed like the only thing I could do, I was robbing myself of the chance to choose for myself. And you two knew it, too." he grinned at the two graves. "You just wanted me to figure it out for myself."

He looked up and out at the horizon, and knew suddenly what it was that he needed to do.

No, correction: what he _wanted _to do.

No more messing around with fate.

No more tampering with destiny.

No longer being restricted by tradition or the laws of the land.

It was time that _he _decided what he wanted to do with life.

There was still a great deal of guilt, sadness, and frustration hiding deep within Kani, but for the first time in what felt like a long time, Kani felt free, and with a set course in mind about where he wanted to end up, and where he was _going _to end up.

Standing, he bowed his head respectfully towards the two graves before addressing them one last time. "Thank you for listening, both of you." he said. "And I miss you both. But for the first time, it looks like I really can continue with life, even if you are not there." he grinned. "Physically, at least."

And with that, he turned to left, heading back into the mostly empty castle and back on up to the study. He was, however, only there for few moments. Just long enough to retrieve Martin's sword from where Mathoni had left it on the desk.

* * *

Night had long fallen, and yet, while most creatures were going to bed with the thought of a better day beginning tomorrow, Moroni was still up and about, sitting at the kitchen table in his home, looking out the window. It was oddly quiet, as well as dark; only a lantern sitting on the table provided any light. And Ruth had willingly gone to bed sometime ago, and was looking the most happy Moroni had seen her in weeks.

She had good reason to. It was all over. The rebellion, the conspiracy, the coup d'etat, everything, and the mastermind behind their troubles was dead. Peace had finally returned to Angola. Times were going back to normal. There was reason to be happy again. And for Moroni, he was doubly happy, as he had received news that the child Ruth was currently bearing would likely be born towards the end of the season, still several weeks away still, but an exciting prospect for the future father. It made him all the happier to know that he could raise his child in a homeland that would be free of serious troubles and danger, and ruled with peace.

Little did he know, however, what would happen next.

At that moment, there came a knock at the front door of the house. Moroni frowned, and twisted around in his chair to look out the kitchen door at the door in question and wondered who could be knocking at this hour. Picking up the lantern and bringing it with him, he wandered over to the front door and opened it. He was completely unprepared to see Kani standing there, cleaned, wearing traveler's clothes, bright and cheerful, and wearing the Redwaller's sword, sheathed at his waist.

"Good evening, captain, sorry for my late intrusion." the fox greeted politely, bowing slightly. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, of course not, c'mon in your lordship." Moroni said, opening the door wider and motioning Kani to enter. "Actually, I'm glad you came. We have a lot we need to discuss."

"Indeed we do." Kani agreed with a nod as he entered and followed Moroni into an adjoining sitting room. "A great many things they are, too." he sighed. "They're likely to change the course of Angolian history, too."

He sat in a chair Moroni offered him, then watched as the mouse set down the lantern on a little side table, then set to work lighting a fire in the fireplace. Once he had gotten a sizable blaze going, he rose and settled himself in a chair opposite from Kani.

"So," he began, "Forgive milord if this seems like I'm prying, but I, uh, trust that you're feeling better now?"

Kani promptly nodded. "Yes." he replied, though he did not go into detail. "I simply needed sometime to myself to...sort things out."

"Of course." Moroni replied with a nod. "And I daresay that after everything you've been through, your lordship, you certainly deserved it." he clapped his paws together. "But now, down to business."

"Right." Kani said. "And I first of all wish to address..."

"Actually, your lordship, there is one thing before we do anything else that we should do first." Moroni said, leaning over and grabbed something from a nearby shelf. "I, uh, hope you don't mind, but I mistakenly took the liberty of grabbing this when I was up at the castle."

He leaned forward and present a box to Kani, who sighed when he saw it. Accepting it from the mouse, he took it in one paw and lifted it's lid, peering inside. It was the royal crown, the same crown that had been placed upon Kani's own brow after his mother had been laid to rest. The fox glanced up at the captain of the Angolian militia, who shrugged.

"I found it while we were still working to have the royal guard stand down." Moroni explained simply. "It wasn't at all located where it normally would. I can only guess is that Methusael had it moved for some reason. As I was unsure still at that point in time if everything would end smoothly, I placed it in my bag for safekeeping until everything was sorted out. But then that incident with Adah came up and that admittedly distracted me to the point I forgot I had it and I mistakenly brought it home with me." he shrugged again. "In doing so, it gave me an idea, though. Technically, it isn't necessary, but i thought that it would only be fitting to re-preform the crowning ceremony, here in Angola with everyone watching, to just have reassurances that everything is, indeed, going back to normal."

Kani looked at the crown for a long moment, his expression not looking that enthused about the idea, before he closed the box again and let it balance in his paws.

"That is, of course, assuming that you're willing, your lordship." Moroni quickly added.

Kani grinned. "Captain, I am only going to tell you this once." he said. "Please do not call me your lordship."

Moroni blanked out. "But...why?" he asked. "Is there something I've overlooked?"

Kani set aside the box and leaned forward. "Captain, things have changed, and they are not going to be going back to the way they were before. Not entirely. It is pointless for us to presume it will, to expect something that will not happen."

"But...why? I don't understand..."

"Captain, how well did you know your father?"

Moroni was taken aback by the question. "Very well." he replied, regardless. "He was a kind mouse and a good father to me. He was an excellent creature to seek advice from. He was very wise."

"Yes, in my travels, I've heard a fair deal about Mormon, and have come to the same conclusion." Kani continued calmly. "I also came to the conclusion that he was a very perceptive mouse. One of the Redwallers, an otter named Rowe, had met him while passing through Angola once, many seasons ago, and told me a little about him. Apparently while he was here, he became good friends with Mormon. At one point Mormon told him that he expected that I and Hax, who were still in our youth at the time, would grow up to be destined for great things."

Moroni grinned at this. "It's true." he said. "You both had done some great things before Methusael came along."

Kani, however, shook his head. "Hax died much too young in his youth to have a chance." he pointed out. "And I was of no help to this land. I sat back and let a conspiracy throw me off the throne, a throne I wasn't even ready to sit in yet."

"But you helped free this land again." Moroni pointed out. "You brought back help to do it, too. Your lordship, you already have done great things for Angola."

"No, I didn't." Kani persisted. "I had my heart in the right place, certainly, but was it even needed?"

"I don't understand your lordship."

"Captain, I spent a better part of today reviewing everything that has happened since last winter. And I've realized that are some very interesting things that have occurred. First was the fact that your father on his deathbed instructed you to start a rebellion, so that you and the other mice would be in a proper position to fight a conspiracy no one really knew was even happening yet. Then, just as this conspiracy is about to strike, Mathoni, of all creatures, turns up with the innocent mission of returning something that belonged to your father. Because of this, he helped you save me from being killed, and helped get me out of Angola so to go seek help from the Redwallers. Only the Redwallers were in no position to be giving assistance by the time we arrived. But I got to Redwall regardless, and spent a fair amount of time with them, and learned a fair deal about them, and from them as well. Meanwhile, despite all of the odds being against you, captain, you are able to keep Methusael at bay, and even _if _I hadn't returned when I did with help, I am fairly confident that you would have eventually overthrown him on your own. You didn't _need _me by that point. In fact, I daresay I was of more use to the Redwallers than I was here."

Moroni gazed at him for a long moment, possibly seeing where Kani was going with this. "What are you saying?"

"That this extremely elaborate series events, almost like some very large plan that seems so interconnected with each other, started because of your father." Kani fell silent for a moment. "It's already been clear that Mormon was a very wise creature who worked in mysterious ways, but I think I have finally figured out why he chose to tell you to rebel against the throne, rather than simply explain about Methusael's plans that we can fairly safely assume that he somehow knew about." he gave Moroni a comforting grin. "Because he knew that the inhabitants for Angola no longer needed a lord or lady to lead it."

Moroni eye's grew wide. "Are you saying..."

"Captain Moroni, my last order as lord of this land is to proclaim the land of Angola and all of it's inhabitants free from any tyrannical rule, regardless of it's good intentions, and to be henceforth ruled from this day out as a united people, who work together to solve their problems..." his grin grew, "...rather than drawing support and leadership from someone else."

The surprise on Moroni's face was obvious as he leaned back in his chair, in obvious shock. For several long moments, he was too stunned to speak, too preoccupied trying to sort out this momentous occasion through his mind.

"You...you realize what this means, right?" Moroni asked.

"That your father got what he requested of you." Kani replied simply.

Moroni shook his head, and simply sat there, agape. "How is this even going to work out?" he asked, bewildered.

"Well, that will be for you to decide, captain."

"Me?"

"Why not? You alone kept Angola united while I was away. In fact, I daresay you have made it more united than it was before. You are a natural leader, captain, just a different sort from the kind a lord is. You work with other creatures, and only act upon the plan you _all _agree upon. You do not simply take charge and direct creatures as you see fit, not unless the situation demands it. And simply look where it has gotten Angola. Happier and more united than ever before. This is what Angola needs, captain. A leader selected by choice. Not a creature proclaimed lord of the land simply by tradition."

"By choice?"

"Yes. Everyone has a choice, captain. Even me. And I choose to not be the leader."

Moroni grinned at this blunt statement. "If I am a natural leader, then you certainly can be."

Kani did not deny this. "I am." he agreed. "But of yet another sort. A sort I feel Angola has little use for."

Moroni nodded, then was quickly lost in thought again. "This is a huge leap." he remarked. "For all of us. How can we be even sure this will work?"

"I have already seen this system in operation." Kani assured him. "It works. But of course, there will be creatures who will have their doubts. Methusael was among them. During our sword fight, he declared that only one of us two, me or him, could be the ruler. However, I disagreed. There was a third option. He just refused to see it. He refused to face change. And he was dealt with as needed as a result. However, I think it will not come to that in this instance. They already look up to you a great deal already, captain. They will follow your lead."

Moroni shook his head. "I don't know if I can do that." he confessed.

"Your father did." Kani remarked simply. "And seeing how much his one choice has done, and what good it as brought for more than one party, I think that will be proof enough that you can."

Moroni grinned again, but it quickly faded away again as he thought of something. "But...what about you?" he asked. "What are you going to do now? Stay here?"

Kani sighed. "As much as I'd like to, and my homeland that it is, I cannot stay here." he confessed. "There is simply too many bad memories here." he shook his head decisively. "No, I'm going to go somewhere else. To start life anew." he managed a grin. "Besides, I think I will be more needed there, than here."

Moroni returned the grin. They were both silent for a moment. Then Moroni pointed to the box sitting beside Kani. "I suppose we aren't going to need that anymore, then." he said.

Kani picked up the box again and examined it for a moment. "No, I suppose we won't."

And without a second thought, he chucked it, crown and all, into the fireplace, to burn. That done, and both feeling there was nothing more to discuss, the two creatures arose and shook paws as a last sign of respect to each other.

"So long," Moroni said to the fox, "Kani."

Kani grinned. "So long, Moroni."

* * *

It was dawn now, but it was hard to tell from here. The sun had risen, but it was still behind the range of mountains that made Angola's eastern border, and thereby still cast the land and it's village in a shadow. However, when viewed from here, the sunlight cast a kind of faint halo around the edges of the mountains, making them to seem to glow.

"Pretty sight." Illia commented, looking at the mountains. "Glad I got th' chance t' see it."

"Y'know, me too." her twin agreed promptly. "Almost worth it t' just come up 'ere long enough t' see it."

Skipper Rowe grinned at their comments. "Angola is just full of beautiful sights." he agreed, turning to have a look himself. "It was great t' come back again for a visit." he sighed. "And just like last time I left, I'm gonna miss it."

"Charming little place." Charles agreed, giving the valley one last look. "But if you will forgive me for saying so, Skip, it's no Redwall Abbey."

Rowe gave the mouse a grin, and clapped him on the back. "True enough." he said, and turned to face the rest of the group. "Well then, mates, are we ready t' go then? All said our g'byes?"

"All except for him." Melody said, stepping up to Rowe, and pointed with one claw.

A bit further down the path, standing apart from the others, and looking intently and hopefully back into Angola, was Mathoni. They all looked at him for a moment in silence. Then Charles, being the closest, stepping towards the young otter.

"Mathoni?" he asked inquiringly.

"I was hopin' Kani would come." Mathoni replied, a little crestfallen. "T' say g'bye. Y'know?"

They were all silent for a moment.

"Mathoni," Illia said after a moment, "Kani's really been through a lot lately. He may not be up t' it."

"I know, but still..." Mathoni bowed his head. "I thought he was my friend. An' friends say goodbye when they leave."

Nobody commented for a few moments.

"Mathoni, as much as I'd like t', we really can't wait for him." Rowe remarked after a few moments. "We really need to be gettin' back t' Redwall. Besides, Tide's probably wonderin' wot happened t' us."

"Aye." Mathoni solemnly agreed. "Aye, ye're right. Let's go."

Nodding in agreement, the other Redwallers and the Quorum of Warriors all turned to leave. Mathoni held up for one moment, giving Angola one last look over for Kani, before Charles placed a paw on his shoulder as a remind that they needed to leave, before the young otter turned and joined the others, and walked off. They were quickly out of sight of Angola.

They spent the next hour hiking to the river the neighbored Angola, where they had left the rafts they had sailed upriver in to get here under the care of the sailor squirrel, Tide. It had been a fairly solemn and quiet one. Mathoni still looked fairly crestfallen that Kani had failed to show. The others felt pity for him, but their thoughts quickly moved on to happier subjects.

Various conversations sprang up about their adventures, and what they all planned to do next. For instance Illia and Tobias were reminiscing about Redwall feasts, particularly the one they anticipated would be awaiting them at the abbey when they returned, while Rowe and Melody discussed what the Quorum of Warriors were going to do now that they were finished helping both Redwall and Angola, and now that the Followers of Gemini had been disbanded. They were still deep into these conversations when they arrived at the river and came within sight of the rafts, but this ended when Tide, who had been on the lookout for their return, hailed them.

"There ye are, mates!" the squirrel called out loudly. "Have fun stormin' the castle?"

"'ello Tide, and aye, we were successful in our attempts t' 'elp Angola." Mathoni called back as the group made their way towards the rafts, spreading out to each board one of the three rafts. "I take it nothin' much happened 'ere while we were gone?"

"No, not really." Tide replied idly. "But it's 'bout time ye got back. Yore vermin friend's been waitin' for quite awhile now."

This comment got everyone's attention.

"Vermin friend?" Melody repeated.

It was then that a certain fox, hearing the conversation, quickly exited the cabin that sat on Tide's raft, the _Water Skimmer_.

"Kani!" Mathoni cried in surprise, and without even stopping to think about it, had rushed forward to grab the fox in a bear hug.

Kani laughed. "And hello to you to, Mathoni." he greeted.

"'ello?" Illia repeated, as she boarded the raft in puzzlement. "Ain't ye supposed t' be sayin' g'bye?"

Kani shook his head. "Not this time." he said. "Not to you lot."

"Does this mean wot I think it means?" Rowe asked, giving Kani a sly look.

"I'm coming with." Kani announced plainly.

"Really?" Mathoni said, even more surprised now. "Ye mean yore goin' t' come t' Redwall an'...an'..." he shook his head. "But wot about Angola? Ain't it yore home?"

Kani rubbed the otter between the ears in a heartfelt gesture. "It was." he said, not wanting to go into detail about his choice right now. "But Redwall is going to be my home now."

Mathoni's grin doubled in size, and he hugged Kani again.

Rowe, deciding better than to question the choice, clapped the fox on the back. "Suppose I should welcome ye t' Redwall then." he said brightly.

Kani nodded in agreement. "Thank you." he said. "Hopefully I will have a better welcome this time around."

"I think ye will." Illia remarked confidently.

"Though I think ol' Friar Machaerus is gonna be a liddle peeved about it." Tobias quipped, sparking a laugh from the others.

"But I still don't understand." Charles remarked, stepping forward. "Why have you chosen to do this, Kani?"

Kani thought about his answer for a moment before giving it. "Because it wouldn't be fair to rob Redwall of it's warrior." he said calmly, as he patted the sword at his waist.

Suddenly Charles understood. "No, I suppose it wouldn't."

"Ye sure ye want this, Kani?" Mathoni asked. "Wot about ye friends that ye 'ave at Angola?"

"They know." Kani assured him. "They respect that this is my choice."

"But...why make this choice?"

"Because no matter what anyone says, Mathoni, you are still free to chose. And this is what I choose."


	66. Epilogue

Last chapter. Recorder's epilogue, as according to tradition. Ties up a few final issues, but still leaves a few things open still (on purpose). ;)

Epilogue

Extract from the writings of Linus Scrypt, Squirrel Recorder of Redwall Abbey:

_The Spring of Windy Days has come to a close, and now the Summer of a New Dawn has begun, officially named as such by Abbot Isaiah just last week. The days that have followed have been long and busy, which is why I have been regrettably neglecting my duties as recorder, but today, as I found myself with little else to do, I thought back to the events of this past spring, and decided to put them down on paper while they were still fresh in my mind._

_It is a bit much to process in one's mind. One thing I can say with certainty, however, is that the remainder of this past spring season has ended much more happily than it began, first beginning with wild and stormy weather, then the mixed conflicts with the Followers of Gemini and the coup d'état that took place in Angola, before finally settling down again to times of peace. Thankfully. However, times have still changed all throughout the land, part of the reason Father Abbot choice the name he did for this summer season, I'm told._

_I can see why he did. And a major part of that is the fact that Redwall Abbey has been graced with the presence of several new creatures to it's order._

_Including a certain fox that is now staying in our midst._

_Kani Fennix has slowly been adjusting to life at Redwall, but it's really the other dwellers of this abbey that are in need of some adjusting still. Most of us have slowly come to adjust to the idea that a fox, a creature we've admittedly only looked upon before as an enemy, is now here to stay at Redwall. However, the idea still seems odd to some. You can't help but stare sometimes. They're smart enough to keep it to themselves now, however, because Kani has clearly earned the right to stay here long term if he so chose, and did choose._

_Probably the creature who still outright objects Kani's presence is Friar Machaerus. The hare still resents Kani presence, and Kani clearly does not like having to put up with the hare's attitude. However, seeing that they are both pretty much stuck living in the same abbey together now, they've quickly learned to...more or less...put up with each other. At least they aren't trying to kill each other anymore (of course, Abbot Isaiah probably helped there by telling them not to)._

_As for myself, Kani is a mystery to me. While I've come to welcome him to the abbey like I would any other creature, particularly after his help with rescuing my son from the paws of Gemini, I really think the fox would have been happier if he stayed at his home. It seems to me that he had a perfectly fine life awaiting for him in Angola once the traitorous Methusael was beaten, complete with a position of power, and a chance to make the land I had first thought he loved so dearly what he wished it to be._

_And yet, he gave it all up to live here at Redwall, and as a result has to readjust completely to the different lifestyle, learn to live in a new location, and on top of it all, deal with the occasional and clearly unwarranted persecution. Exactly why he did it will forever be a mystery to me. And of course, Kani has not been very forthcoming on the details. I have managed to learn a few things from creatures such as Skipper Rowe and Mathoni about what had happened in Angola that could possibly explain this, however. Poor Kani. I suppose after everything he's been through, he would be entitled to a little soul searching. I just never thought a fox like him would choose to do it here at Redwall._

_Or, for that matter, for him to become our newest warrior of Redwall, officially, this time._

_Either way, it seems clear that Kani is here to stay. And save for all of the aforementioned problems, which are growing to be less and less severe with each passing day, he is actually fitting in fairly well into life at Redwall. Many are already starting to respect him as the warrior of Redwall, and more still as friends. Such as myself, Charles, Skipper Rowe, Mathoni, and above all, Abbot Isaiah. In fact, I daresay Kani is the closest with the abbot, and the two are frequently seen interacting with each other._

_Almost to the point that Kani has become like a second leader to Redwall. But of a different sort from an abbot. More like he is the leader of the Redwall cause. To seek peace and happiness, and to be kind to all. At least, that is how I see it. If you even hint to Kani being any kind of leader within his hearing range (which is remarkably good) you are likely to get an earful of how he is __**not **__a leader._

_But, just between you and me, he is an unintentional leader. He just doesn't realize it._

_Anyway, as to other things that have been happening around here, there is a bit to tell. As I have already stated, we just named the new summer season last week, which of course meant we had a naming celebration to go along with the occasion. It was Kani's first naming ceremony, by the way. He seemed to enjoy it, though I do seem to recall him remarking afterwards that we Redwallers seem to take every event, big or small, as an excuse to celebrate._

_Curses, he's figuring out our secrets already._

_It wasn't just Kani's first naming ceremony by the way, just so you are aware, as Kani wasn't the only one who has joined our ranks. We had a fair number of creatures staying at the abbey still as a result of the disbanding of the Followers of Gemini. Of course, not all of them are staying here. Not even Redwall Abbey is that big. No, a fair number of them left to either go and rejoin their families, or with another tribe. For example, the young otter Sarias came from a tribe of otters located to the north of here which, as luck would have it, Skipper Rowe had met once. A brief journey later, and the ottermaid was happily reunited with her family that still, thankfully, lived there._

_Likewise, the mole known as Terra, despite having no tribe or family still living to return to (as the forces of Gemini had successfully wiped it out), went out to find a tribe of moles to live with, anxious to be with his own kind again. Understandable, as at the moment, there are not that many moles residing at Redwall currently. Eventually, Terra did find a new tribe to join, and he along with several other mole refugees were adopted into it. Even the shrew, Surt, was rejoined with his tribe, although the poor creature is still quite befuddled from his encounter with the followers._

_Others who have no family or home to return to after their time with the late Followers of Gemini, however, have mostly chosen to stay at Redwall, where they are welcome. Young Denarius, better known as Deni, for instance has chosen to live at Redwall. He has become fast friends with my own Alexander (whom, I'm happy to report, is back to his usual antics of playing and other tomfoolery instead of doing his studies in writing and lettering like I would rather he do. Oh well, I suppose some things never change)._

_There were fair share of the remaining members of the Followers of Gemini, however, who were had no home and family to return to nor were satisfied staying at Redwall. These were the creatures who had a part of the followers for the longest, so much so, that they had lost much of their personal identity. And they were finding it very hard to change some of their ways._

_Fortunately, the mouse teacher, who is still going without a real name to go by instead of "teacher" (secretly, I think he prefers that), has come up with a solution, more or less, and he, most of the Quorum of Warriors (including Melody, who felt she had a duty to fulfill), and the other former followers who felt lost without Gemini, false deity or not, have moved back into the sanctuary that had housed the followers for all of these seasons, and resumed their curious practices. But of course, their beliefs were given some major modifications under the direction of the mouse teacher. Now, they are a much friendlier lot, who main goal is to seek peace, serenity, and a perfect understanding of the world around them. They will welcome anyone who wishes to join them, but will also be quite understanding if said creature chooses not to, not unlike the practices of Redwall._

_Out of curiosity, I attended one of their meetings to see what they were about. Apparently, it includes a lot of thought and pondering, including a great deal of meditation and personal study of your own heart and soul, and your inner spirit. It sounds very thought provoking, and something that would interest me greatly...however, I failed to stay awake throughout all of that soul-searching, and ended up missing the point, I suppose._

_I did suggest to Kani that he try it, however, seeing that he's been doing some of his own soul-searching, or something to that extent (it's the nearest I can figure out to explain that fox's actions at times)._

_He didn't seem to take the suggestion well, though._

_The newly renamed Quorum of Peace isn't the only society that has been getting reshaped however. While Kani as adopted a whole new life here at Redwall, he hasn't forgotten his friends and former followers in Angola. He plans to go and visit them someday, but in the meantime, has been staying in touch with the going-ons there via letters and an Angolian messenger who comes to our abbey periodically to either deliver messages, or pick up new ones._

_Anyway, things are currently coming along a little roughly at Angola, which is understandable, seeing that they are in the middle of the political reform. Suddenly, those inhabitants, who have been relying on a lord or lady to lead them for all of these seasons, have to fend for themselves. They've made good progress, however. Unsurprisingly, after Kani left, Captain Moroni was declared the replacement by popular choice. Moroni's job since that appointment has been try and organize a new form of government for the Angolians. Upon a suggestion from Kani, he has taken a few pages from Redwall's book, and is working at constructing a council of officials to be the majority of the government, with a creature heading it as it's leader (Moroni)._

_Unlike Redwall, however, all of the creatures who are placed into this council are to be selected by the inhabitants of the land, and only those who prove to be the most popular will get in. Highly irregular in my mind, but it seems to be working for them, although they are still fine-tuning the system. Kani has told me jokingly that among the things Moroni is working to perfect is the matter how long a leader will serve as leader, as the mouse apparently doesn't want to be the leader for the rest of his life either._

_Another issue they faced was the matter of the two vermin mercenaries that were captured and left in the custody of the Angolians, Sais and Grim (as their names apparently are). There was much debate as to what to do with them. Some wanted them executed, which is an arguably expected solution. However, the two were allowed to stay in Angola long enough for the injuries they had sustained to heal properly (one, I can't remember which, apparently had broken his leg during the conflict), then had undergone some stern talking to, informing them that if they were ever caught causing problems again, Angola wouldn't go so easily on them, and then let them go. The two vermin haven't reappeared in the land since._

_Although I somehow doubt they learned any lessons from the whole incident._

_On a happier tone, however, the babe Moroni's wife, Ruth, has been bearing during all of this time has finally been born, and both proud parents and the babe are doing well. It is a boy, and after some mild debate, was named Hax, after Kani's late brother. Kani, upon hearing this, was very touched, and remarked via letter that he was sure his brother would have been very honored._

_All in all, life is going along well. Charles seems to overcome the worse of the trauma he suffered whilst fighting for the first time, and while still a very changed mouse, seems to have comes to terms with that fact, and is happy enough with life. Because he has become so fluent in the Sparra language, he's become a closer friend to Mathoni, who is trying to learn more of the language so he can speak as well. Both creatures interact with the sparrow Blackwing, whom everyone at the abbey now knows the existence of, but the bird is still very skittish around anybeast other than Charles and Mathoni._

_Charles also has been helping out in the kitchens as well, at the request of Malachi, who was more than happy to help. I asked Malachi why he was so anxious to have Charles helping him in the kitchens, but Malachi wouldn't really give me a direct answer. The closest I got was a statement that said that things just ran smoother with Charles around, and things tended to fall apart when the mouse was not present. I suppose this means Charles has yet another hidden talent. You would have thought that a young mouse that was once so shy and seclusive would have so many talented gifts?_

_Either way, life progresses on here at Redwall. We are all mostly busy making the best of the summer weather. My family and I have participated in a fair number of outdoor activities as of late, which were all fun, until the Dibbuns got a hold of a bunch of buckets and started filling them up with water from the pond and dumping them on other people. Omni, our cellarhog, has taken to storytelling lately, and can be found telling stories under the shade of trees to the young ones when he is not working. Kani and Mathoni have frequently have been leaving the abbey and heading out on long walks out into the woods, talking, seemingly without end, all throughout, and not appearing to head out to do anything else (though there is a rumor going around that they will visit the sailor squirrel Tide as a kind of thanks for his help during the turmoil of the spring). Abbot Isaiah grows older and wiser still, but despite his age, he has not slowed down any with his duties as abbot, and is still loved by all._

_Whatever the case, times are happy and peaceful here at Redwall. And in the end, that's all that really matters._

_Linus Scrypt (recorder for Redwall Abbey and surrounding Mossflower Woods)

* * *

_

The end. Now, as for any future writing for the Redwall fandom, I of course plan to. I plan to write and post a couple of one-shot tags to "Warrior of Redwall" as time presents itself, for instance. Beyond that, however, I'm afraid I must announce that it would be unwise for me to start any new multi-chapter Redwall fanfics at this time. There are a couple reasons why. One of which is the fact that there are only so many hours in a day, and part of those hours are already dedicated to life, the universe, and everything, leaving only so many left to write fanfics. And I have other works I need to be working on. For instance, I have one fanfic that has been on a unplanned hiatus for long enough now, and I have made promises elsewhere on FanFiction to write more in those fandoms, and I plan to keep those promises. But above all, I know that before this year is out, I will most likely have to be away from my beloved laptop, and thereby any fanfic writing of any sort, for as long as two years. (yeah, I know, really bad news, that).

However, once all of _that_ is out of the way, I of course plan to come back and do more novel-style Redwall fanfics. So in two or so years (exact details can be found on my profile as they become more readily available) expect me to come back into the writing scene. When that time comes, there are two novel-length Redwall fanfics I plan to write.

The first will be titled "Weylan's Return," which should be fairly self explanatory for those who have read some of my other Redwall stories.

The other will be (for the moment, it MIGHT change) titled "Bitter Herbs." It'll be a sequel to "Warrior of Redwall." ;)

So, until we meet again. :)


End file.
